Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins (C) goes for the ball between Chicago Bulls' forward Luol Deng and center Joakim Noah (R) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Sunday. — Reuters OKLAHOMA CITY — Russell Westbrook scored 27 points, Kevin Durant added 26 points and 10 rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder used a dominating third quarter to beat Chicago 92-78 Sunday and move within a game of the Bulls for the NBA's best record. The Thunder pulled away by outscoring Chicago 31-12 in the third quarter, allowing the Bulls to make only five of their 21 shots. Oklahoma City clinched a playoff berth in the process, with the help of tiebreakers over the teams fighting for the Western Conference's final spot in the postseason. The Bulls played without All-Star point guard Derrick Rose for the 10th straight game, falling to 14-6 this season without the reigning MVP and 7-3 during his current absence with a groin injury. Celtics 91, Heat 72: Rajon Rondo (stats) had a triple-double and Boston handed Miami its biggest loss of the season. The Celtics (team stats) outscored the Heat 31-12 in the third quarter, turning a five-point halftime lead into an 80-56 advantage. They stayed ahead by at least 19 the rest of the way for their fifth straight win. Miami's last three losses have been by at least 15 points and its previous worst defeat of the season came just one week earlier in a 103-87 setback at Oklahoma City. Rondo finished with 16 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds for his fifth triple-double of the season. The Celtics increased their Atlantic Division lead to one game over idle Philadelphia. Lakers 120, Warriors 112: Kobe Bryant scored 40 points, Pau Gasol added 26 and the Lakers found themselves rallying for the second straight game against one of the West's worst teams. Ramon Sessions added 23 points in his best game since being traded to the Lakers two weeks ago. Gasol and reserve Troy Murphy had 11 rebounds each after All-Star center Andrew Bynum sprained his left ankle in the first quarter of the Lakers' eighth consecutive home win against the Warriors. David Lee led six Warriors in double figures with 27 points. Klay Thompson added 18, Nate Robinson 17, and Richard Jefferson 16 for Golden State, which lost its fifth in a row and 10th in their last 12. Nuggets 104, Magic 101: Ty Lawson scored 12 of his 25 points in the second half and Arron Afflalo added 22 points as Denver beat short-handed Orlando. Jameer Nelson led Orlando with 27 points, followed by Ryan Anderson with 20 and Glen Davis with 18. Raptors 99, Wizards 92: Andrea Bargnani scored 18 points, Jose Calderon and DeMar DeRozan each had 15 and Toronto beat Washington at home for the fifth straight time. Amir Johnson scored 10 points anJohn Wall had 13 points and 11 assists and Kevin Seraphin scored a career-high 16 points for the Wizards. Pacers 104, Rockets 102, OT: Danny Granger scored 32 points, including two free throws with 15.7 seconds left in overtime, leading Indiana past Houston. Goran Dragic led the Rockets with 22 points and Lee added 20. Suns 92, Hornets 75: Jared Dudley scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half and Phoenix climbed back to .500 and moved 1 1/2 games behind eighth-place Houston in the Western Conference. Shannon Brown, starting for injured Grant Hill, added 16 for Phoenix. Jason Smith and Marco Belinelli scored 14 apiece for the Hornets. Jarrett Jack added 13. Trail Blazers 119, Timberwolves 106: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points in his return after missing one game with a sore left elbow, leading Portland past Minnesota. Nicolas Batum added 24 points for the Trail Blazers.
