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Kevin Durant returns to lead Oklahoma City Thunder past Utah Jazz

Thunder forward Kevin Durant plays during an Oct. 28 game against the San Antonio Spurs in Oklahoma City.

Thunder forward Kevin Durant plays during an Oct. 28 game against the San Antonio Spurs in Oklahoma City.

(Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
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Kevin Durant had 27 points and six rebounds in his return from a hamstring injury Monday night, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 111-89 victory over the Utah Jazz at Salt Lake City.

Durant was 10 for 13 from the field in his first game since Nov. 10 when he was injured in a game at Washington. Russell Westbrook narrowly missed his third triple-double of the season with 20 points, seven rebounds and nine assists.

The Thunder ran away in the second quarter, making 14 of 19 shots and outscoring the Jazz, 40-26.

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Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 19 points. Derrick Favors had 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, and Rudy Gobert finished with 10 points.

At Cleveland 117, Orlando 103: LeBron James joined Oscar Robertson on an exclusive NBA list and Kevin Love scored a season-high 34 points for the Cavaliers, who are unbeaten at home.

James had 15 points and 13 assists and joined Robertson as the only players in league history to rank in the top 25 in career points and assists.

With his fifth assist, James moved past Norm Nixon (6,386) into 25th place and moved alongside Robertson, who finished his Hall of Fame career with 26,710 points and 9,887 assists. James will soon eclipse Robertson’s scoring total and is a good bet to pass him on the assist list as well.

At Minnesota 100, Philadelphia 95: Andrew Wiggins scored 11 of his 32 points in the last five minutes as the Timberwolves won for the first time at home and the 76ers remained winless.

“He’s turning into an unbelievable player right before our eyes every night,” interim coach Sam Mitchell said.

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At Miami 95, New York 78: Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each scored 16 points to help the Heat end the Knicks’ four-game winning streak.

Goran Dragic had 13 points and nine assists, Tyler Johnson scored 12 points and Hassan Whiteside had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat.

At Charlotte 127, Sacramento 122: Kemba Walker scored 39 points and the Hornets battled back from 22 points down in the second half to win in overtime.

Nicolas Batum had 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Hornets, who have won four of their last five games. Jeremy Lin had seven of his 14 points in overtime.

At Milwaukee 109, Detroit 88: Greg Monroe had 20 points and 13 rebounds in his first game against his former team, helping the Bucks end a three-game losing streak.

At San Antonio 98, Phoenix 84: Kawhi Leonard had 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who forced 28 turnovers.

Phoenix was averaging 106.5 points, but was held to a season-low point total while committing a season high in turnovers. The Suns were without point guard Eric Bledsoe, who missed the second game of a back-to-back with a sore left knee.

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“I don’t know what we were doing just handing the ball, soft passes,” Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek said. “Even when we tried to lob it over, the passes were like five feet short of where it’s supposed to go. That’s hard to overcome.”

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