Thunder withstands 48 points by Ellis to slip past Warriors

Feb 8, 2012, 7:20 GMT

Los Angeles - Kevin Durant banked in the go-ahead jumper with 14.2 seconds left and the Oklahoma City Thunder withstood a career-high 48 points by Monta Ellis to slip past the Golden State Warriors 119-116 on Tuesday night.

After Russell Westbrook made two free throws to make 119-116, the Warriors had a final shot to send the game into overtime. But Brandon Rush missed a three-pointer from the left corner at the final buzzer.

Durant finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Westbrook had 31 points and seven rebounds for NBA-best Oklahoma City (20-4), coming off an overtime win at Portland on Monday night.

David Lee had his second career triple double with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for Golden State while Stephen Curry added 16 points and 10 assists.

Nikola Pekovic had 23 points with 10 rebounds, Derrick Williams drained the tie-breaking three-pointer with 57 seconds left, and the Minnesota Timberwolves minus All-Star Kevin Love held off the visiting Sacramento Kings 86-84.

Williams finished with 14 points and eight boards in place of Love, who was serving the first of a two-game suspension, for stomping on Houston Rockets forward Luis Scola on Saturday.

Michael Beasley finished with 17 points and 14 boards, while Spanish rookie sensation Ricky Rubio matched a career-high with 14 assists as the Timberwolves (13-12) moved over the .500 mark after 25 games for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

Paul Pierce passed Larry Bird as the Celtics second all-time leading scorer with 15 points, Kevin Garnett added 22 and host Boston rolled to its fifth consecutive victory while sending the league-worst Charlotte Bobcats to their 12th straight loss, 94-84.

Dwyane Wade scored eight of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, LeBron James added 24 against his former team and the Miami Heat pulled away late to beat the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers for its 11th win in the last 13 games.

Elsewhere: the Indiana Pacers slipped past the visiting Utah Jazz 104-99; and the visiting Phoenix Suns shaded the Milwaukee Bucks 107-105.