Clippers quiet Thunder behind Paul and Griffin

Jan 31, 2012, 7:08 GMT

Los Angeles - Chris Paul had 26 points with 14 assists, Blake Griffin scored 22 including a monster highlight reel dunk, and the LA Clippers quieted the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder 112-100 Monday night in a showdown of Western Conference leaders.

Caron Butler also had 22 points for the Pacific-leading Clippers (12-6), who led by as many as 22 en route to their third straight win.

Kevin Durant had 36 points with 13 rebounds, while Russell Westbrook scored 31 for the Northwest-leading Thunder (16-40) which dropped to 16-4 after having its four-game winning streak halted.

Derrick Rose scored 35 points, Joakim Noah collected 14 points with 13 rebounds and seven assists, and the visiting Chicago Bulls ran over the lowly Washington Wizards for the seventh straight time, 98-88.

LeBron James flirted with a triple double, finishing with 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, Dwyane Wade also scored 22 and as the Miami Heat rolled to its fifth straight win, while handing the visiting New Orleans Hornets their 11th loss in the last 12 games.

Elsewhere: the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves rocked the Houston Rockets 120-108; the Milwaukee Bucks pounded the visiting Detroit Pistons 103-82; the visiting San Antonio Spurs tamed the Memphis Grizzlies 83-73; the visiting Dallas Mavericks routed the Phoenix Suns 122-99; the Utah Jazz trimmed the visiting Portland Trail Blazers 93-89; and the Philadelphia 76ers dumped the visiting Orlando Magic 74-69.