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Russell Westbrook’s latest triple-double in a win surpasses Wilt Chamberlain’s mark

Thunder guard Russell Westbrook goes up for a dunk against the Jazz during the fourth quarter Saturday.
(Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
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Russell Westbrook broke a tie with Wilt Chamberlain and inched closer to Oscar Robertson when he had 33 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds for his 32nd triple-double of the season on Saturday in leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 112-104 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz.

Westbrook broke a tie with Chamberlain (1967-68) for the second-most triple-doubles in a season. Robertson set the record of 41 in 1961-62.

“They are historic numbers you are talking about — Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson — two of the greatest players to play the game,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “They are impactful in the game. And I think that when Russell’s career is done, whenever that time is, he is a guy that you are going to look at and say that what he’s done throughout his career is historic.”

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Victor Oladipo added 22 points to help the Thunder win for the third time in four regular-season meetings with the Jazz.

“To play this game, you have to feel like you are the best,” Oladipo said, “so I feel like we are the best backcourt in the NBA.”

Utah was without center Rudy Gobert and forward Derrick Favors because of leg soreness, and Gordon Hayward played only 21 minutes, finishing with nine points — 13 below his average.

The Thunder opened the second half with a 14-5 run to take a 23-point lead. Westbrook had four assists during the spurt.

Utah cut the deficit to seven points twice in the final seven minutes and had it down to six with 1:18 to go. Westbrook had a driving dunk with 37 seconds to restore the double-digit advantage.

Cleveland 116, at Orlando 104: LeBron James had 24 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds as the Cavaliers stopped a three-game losing streak. It was James’ career-best ninth triple-double of the season.

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Kyrie Irving scored 22 points and Tristan Thompson contributed 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers, who had dropped four of five. Aaron Gordon had 16 points to lead the Magic, who shot four of 21 from three-ponit range. Evan Fournier added with 15 points while Elfrid Payton finished with eight points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

at San Antonio 107, Golden State 85: Patty Mills had 21 points and the Spurs rolled to a victory in a game short on star power to pull within a half-game of the NBA’s top record. Already without Kevin Durant (knee injury), the Warriors opted to rest Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala.

The Spurs were expecting to be without Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and Dejounte Murray due to injuries, but received a jolt when they were informed that LaMarcus Aldridge will be out indefinitely with a minor heart arrhythmia. Aldridge underwent tests Saturday and will have more Monday. Ian Clark had 36 points to lead Golden State, which suffered its third straight loss and fifth in seven games.

Denver 105, at Sacramento 92: Jamal Murray scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and the Nuggets increased their lead over Portland for the final West playoff spot to two games. Gary Harris had 24 points, Nikola Jokic added 20 points and 14 rebounds and Danilo Gallinari scored 15 as the Nuggets beat the Kings for the second time in six days. Buddy Hield had 17 points and six rebounds for Sacramento, which lost its eighth straight. The Kings are 1-8 since trading All-Star DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans.

Washington 125, at Portland 124 (OT): John Wall scored 39 points and the Wizards edged the Trail Blazers in a controversial overtime game. It looked as if Markieff Morris stepped out of bounds before making a go-ahead baseline jumper with 0.4 seconds left. The crowd at the Moda Center howled in protest and the players pointed to the video replay to no avail. Bradley Beal added 26 points for the Wizards, who have won five straight. CJ McCollum scored 34 points for Portland, which had won four in a row, and Damian Lillard had 33.

New Orleans 125, at Charlotte 122 (OT): Anthony Davis had 46 points and 21 rebounds, and the Pelicans won with DeMarcus Cousins sitting on the bench during crunch time. Davis had 15 points in the fourth quarter and nine more in overtime. Davis shot 18 of 31 from the field, including four of five three-point range. The Pelicans improved to 3-6 since adding Cousins. Marvin Williams had a season-high 27 points to go along with 10 rebounds for the Hornets.

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at Miami 104, Toronto 89: Dion Waiters scored 20 points, Tyler Johnson added 16 and the Heat improved to 21-4 over their last 25 games. Goran Dragic scored 15 and Hassan Whiteside added 12 points and 14 rebounds for Miami. DeMar DeRozan scored 17 points for the Raptors, who have lost 15 of their last 24 games.

at Detroit 112, New York 92: Tobias Harris scored 23 of his 28 points in the first half, when the Pistons took control with a fast start to build an 18-point lead in the first quarter. The Pistons are 12-6 since the start of February. Andre Drummond had 24 points and 15 rebounds for Detroit, while Reggie Jackson contributed 19 points and eight assists. Kristaps Porzingis scored 18 points for the Knicks, who had six players in double figures but lost for the fourth time in five games.

at Milwaukee 102, Minnesota 95: Tony Snell scored 19 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 18 and the balanced Bucks recorded their season-high sixth consecutive victory. Milwaukee had seven players score in double figures. Matthew Dellavedova had 16 points and Greg Monroe finished with 12. Karl-Anthony Towns had 35 points and 14 rebounds for Minnesota, which was coming off a victory against Golden State on Friday night. Ricky Rubio added 22.

Phoenix 100, at Dallas 98: Devin Booker made a 17-footer with 1.4 seconds left to give the Suns their fourth win in six games while stopping the Mavericks’ winning streak at four. Booker scored 25 of his 36 points in the second half. Dirk Nowitzki had 23 points — 19 in the first half — and grabbed 11 rebounds for Dallas. Harrison Barnes also scored 23 points for the Mavericks, making a career-high 13 free throws in 14 attempts.

Atlanta 107, at Memphis 90: Taurean Prince scored a career-high 17 points to lead a balanced Hawks attack that sent the Grizzlies to their fifth straight loss. Prince, a rookie from Baylor, made five of his six shots, including three of four from long range. Dennis Schroder and Paul Millsap finished with 16 points each for Atlanta. Millsap added 11 rebounds, while Schroder had seven rebounds and eight assists. JaMychal Green led Memphis with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Mike Conley scored 16.

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