Basketball: Undermanned Thunder still beats Blazers in tight contest
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PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) - The National Basketball Association-leading Oklahoma City Thunder overcame the absence of a couple of regular starters and won a tight contest 87-83 at Portland on Sunday, ending the Trail Blazers' nine-game home winning streak.
Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant had 33 points and Russell Westbrook added 18 points and nine assists for the Thunder, who played without starters Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha because of injuries.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 33 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers, who trailed by 11 points but got within one point with 21.9 seconds to go.
Kendrick Perkins missed the first of two free throws and after a timeout Aldridge missed a tough fade-away jumper from about 20 feet out. Westbrook made a pair of foul shots for the final margin.
