Thomas Drops 33 On Nuggets – NBA roundup

UPDATED (AP) — Jason Collins' line in the long box wasn't that impressive: no points, two rebounds and five fouls in 10 minutes. But the NBA had a groundbreaking moment when Jason Collins stepped onto the court Sunday for the Brooklyn Nets in a 108-102 win over the Lakers in Los Angeles. Collins checked in early in the second quarter and became the openly gay player in the four major U.S. professional sports leagues. The crowd welcomed him with a nice ovation when the public address announcer announced his name.

Collins signed a 10-day contract with the Nets earlier in the day. He has played 12 NBA seasons, including his first seven with the Nets. He hasn't played a game since revealing at the end of last season he is gay.

Nets general manager Billy King called the signing a basketball decision that gives his team more depth inside.

It was an important win for Brooklyn, which had dropped 11 straight to the Lakers before Deron Williams poured in 30 points and provided seven assists. Paul Pierce had 25 points and seven rebounds as the Nets stayed 4 ½ games behind first-place Toronto in the Atlantic Division.

A pair of Western Conference division leaders met up in Oklahoma City, and the home team fell to 0-2 since Russell Westbrook returned to action.

Jamal Crawford poured in 36 points as the Los Angeles Clippers topped the Thunder 125-117. Matt Barnes added 24 points, Blake Griffin finished with 20 and Chris Paul had 18, 12 assists and eight rebounds. DeAndre Jordan chipped in 18 points and 12 rebounds as the Clippers ended a two-game skid.

Kevin Durant had 42 points and 10 assists to pace the Thunder.

In other NBA play:

— Chris Bosh scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to push Miami past Chicago 93-79. Dwyane (dwayn) Wade finished with 23 points, 10 boards and seven assists as the Heat won their fifth in a row despite the absence of LeBron James, who sat out with a broken nose.

— Damian Lillard had 32 points and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied to beat Minnesota 108-97. Thomas Robinson had 14 points and a career-high 18 rebounds to help the Blazers win their second straight since a three-game skid.

— Patrick Beverley sank the go-ahead 3-pointer with 34.3 seconds to play before Houston escaped Phoenix with a 115-112 victory over the Suns. Dwight Howard scored 25, James Harden 23 and Beverley 20 for the Rockets, who trailed by 10 entering the fourth quarter.

— Washington is back at .500 after John Wall scored 21 points and Bradley Beal had 17 in the Wizards' 96-83 victory at Cleveland. The Wizards allowed just 11 fourth-quarter points and strengthened their hold on fifth place in the East.

— Kyle Lowry scored 28 points and DeMar DeRozan had 24 in Toronto's 105-90 rout of Orlando, the Magic's 15th consecutive road loss. Terrence Ross scored 16 and Amir Johnson had 12 points and eight rebounds before leaving with a sprained right ankle in the Raptors' fifth victory in six games.

— Isaiah Thomas scored 33 points in Rudy Gay had 32 in Sacramento's 109-95 rout of Denver. DeMarcus Cousins added 27 points as the Kings snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.