Thunder beat Knicks for their 5th win

OKLAHOMA CITY — What appeared to be a lopsided victory turned into a nail-biter, but the Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t complain.

Wins have been rare this season for the Thunder, so they wanted to celebrate after holding off the New York Knicks 107-99 on Tuesday night — after nearly blowing a 23-point, second-half lead.

“We showed a lot of character,” said Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant, who had 27 points and 12 rebounds. “They came back and got within two but we continued to work hard and kept our composure and fought on the defensive end and got some key scores.”

Jeff Green added 27 points for Oklahoma City (5-30), which shot 52.7 percent from the field and won for the second time in three games. The loss came on a 3-pointer by Denver’s Carmelo Anthony with 0.1 seconds to play.

The crowd at the Ford Center, nearly silent after the loss to the Nuggets, cheered loudly as Thunder players and coaches exited the floor after beating the Knicks.

Other games

Bobcats 114, Celtics 106 (OT)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Raymond Felton scored 25 points, rookie D.J. Augustin added 11 of his 20 points in overtime as Charlotte stunned Boston to continue the Celtics’ sudden slide. After a team-record 19-game winning streak and an NBA-record 27-2 start, the Celtics lost for the fifth time in seven games.

Magic 89, Wizards 80

ORLANDO, Fla. — Hedo Turkoglu scored 22 points and Orlando held off a late scoring burst by Caron Butler to beat Washington.

76ers 104, Rockets 96

PHILADELPHIA — Andre Iguodala scored 28 points and reeling Philadelphia returned home from a dreadful 1-5 road trip to beat Houston.

Timberwolves 94, Grizzlies 87

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Randy Foye scored 23 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 40 seconds to play, and Minnesota weathered a late rally to beat Memphis. Following his basket, Foye blocked O.J. Mayo’s shot on the next Grizzlies’ possession, leading to a fast-break bucket by Ryan Gomes, and the Timberwolves secured their third straight win — their longest winning streak since January 2007.

Bulls 99, Kings 94

CHICAGO — Ben Gordon scored 24 points and Chicago beat Sacramento to snap a three-game losing streak. The Bulls converted 33 of 36 free throws, but the three they missed nearly cost them. After making its first 29, Chicago hit just four of its final seven, allowing Sacramento to stay in the game.

Mavericks 107, Clippers 102

DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki scored 34 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 37 seconds to play right after he blocked a shot, and Dallas held on to beat the short-handed Clippers, who had just eight players in uniform because of injuries and a suspension.

Hornets 116, Lakers 105

LOS ANGELES — David West scored 15 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter and Chris Paul added 32 points and 15 assists as New Orleans beat Los Angeles, snapping the Lakers’ 15-game home winning streak.

Of note

Anthony out three weeks

DENVER — Denver Nuggets All-Star Carmelo Anthony will miss at least three weeks with a broken bone in his shooting hand — but won’t need surgery. The team said Anthony will be fitted for a removable splint after breaking a bone in his right hand in a victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday.

Court awaits Denver guard

FREEHOLD, N.J. — Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith is due to appear in a New Jersey municipal court next week to face traffic summonses stemming from a car crash that killed a friend in 2007. A Monmouth County grand jury in October declined to indict the New Jersey native on vehicular homicide charges that could have carried a jail term. Police say Smith drove his SUV around a stopped car at a stop sign and into the path of an oncoming car in Millstone in June 2007. His friend, Andre Bell, was killed in the crash. Smith sprained his left shoulder.

Suns dump guard

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns have released Dee Brown less than two weeks after signing him to fill the team’s need for a backup point guard. Brown appeared in two games for Phoenix and averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 assists.