Durant Drops 46 On Portland – NBA Roundup For Jan. 22nd

UNDATED (AP) — Kevin Durant continued his scoring outburst while helping the Oklahoma City Thunder win a matchup of two of the NBA's best teams.

Durant scored 11 of his 46 points in the final 3:23 to help the Thunder close out a 105-97 victory against Portland. He shot 17-for-25 from the field and 6-for-7 from 3-point range in hitting the 30-point plateau for the eighth consecutive game.

Reggie Jackson added 15 points for Oklahoma City, which took a one-game lead over Portland in the Northwest Division.

Elsewhere in the NBA:

- Miami blew an 18-point lead before scoring the last nine points in a 93-86 win over Boston. LeBron James scored 11 of his 29 points in the final period and finished with 11 rebounds and eight assists as the Heat won for just the third time in seven games.

- The Brooklyn Nets got big contributions from their reserves in a 101-90 victory against Orlando. Andray Blatche (AHN'-dray blach) had a team-high 18 points off the bench and backup forward Mirza Teletovic (MEER'-zuh teh-LEH'-toh-vihch) added 14 points in the Nets' eighth victory in nine games.

- Minnesota completed a home-and-home sweep of Utah as Kevin Love contributed 19 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in a 112-97 victory over the Jazz. Corey Brewer chipped in 19 points and Ricky Rubio had 13 assists as the Timberwolves win for their first time in their last eight visits to Salt Lake City.

- Rudy Gay hit five of his eight 3-point tries and tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory over New Orleans. Isaiah Thomas had 20 points and 11 assists, while DeMarcus Cousins had 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for the Kings.

DENVER (AP) — Danilo (dah-NIH'-loh) Gallinari has had a major setback in his return from left knee surgery, requiring a second operation Tuesday that will sideline him for the remainder of the season.

The Nuggets initially had hoped to have their star shooting forward back sometime this season. Instead, his left ACL was reconstructed Tuesday.

Gallinari hasn't played since blowing out his left knee in a game against Dallas last April 4.