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NBA-Highlights of Wednesday's NBA games

Dec 7 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights from National Basketball Association games on Wednesday: Warriors 115, LA Clippers 98 Klay Thompson scored 24 points and Draymond Green added 22 as the Golden State Warriors routed the Los Angeles Clippers 115-98. Stephen Curry tallied 19 points, seven steals and six assists for the Warriors, though he missed all eight of his three-point attempts. Kevin Durant collected 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Golden State. Jamal Crawford led the Clippers with 21 points. Chris Paul recorded 15 points, six rebounds and five assists for Los Angeles. Clippers forward Blake Griffin managed just 12 points on 5-of-20 shooting. Griffin also had nine rebounds. Cavaliers 126, NY Knicks 94 Kyrie Irving continued his mastery over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, scoring 28 points in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 126-94 win. Irving is averaging 28.4 points in six games at Madison Square Garden, his highest scoring average among all NBA arenas. LeBron James added 25 points and Kevin Love contributed 21 points for the Cavaliers. Nets 116, Nuggets 111 Brook Lopez scored 24 points as Brooklyn blew most of a 29-point lead but held on for a victory over Denver. Lopez was among five starters in double figures for Brooklyn, who wobbled to the finish as they held a 92-63 lead with 5:56 remaining in the third quarter but were outscored 48-24 the rest of the way. Kings 120, Mavericks 89 DeMarcus Cousins flirted with a triple-double to lead the Sacramento Kings past the Dallas Mavericks. The game was over before the fourth quarter, as the Kings, up just 56-52 at halftime, raced out to as much as a 23-point lead in the third. Cousins scored 24 points and made 14 rebounds, to go along with seven assists, while Rudy Gay scored 19 on 8-of-14 shooting in 31 minutes. Bucks 115, Trail Blazers 107 Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his second triple-double of the season and Jabari Parker scored 27 points as the Milwaukee Bucks rallied in the second half for a 115-107 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Antetokounmpo scored 15 points to go along with 12 rebounds and 11 assists in 40 minutes. Parker scored 10 of his points in the third quarter as the Bucks took a nine-point lead into the fourth. Rockets 134, LA Lakers 95 Eric Gordon scored 26 points in 23 minutes off the bench and James Harden added 25 points and eight assists as the Houston Rockets throttled the Los Angeles Lakers 134-95. Gordon made 9 of 13 shots from the field and a career-high eight three-pointers to pace the onslaught. The Rockets torched the short-handed Lakers' defense, which offered little resistance save for one fleeting stretch in the second quarter. All five Rockets starters scored in double figures, with guard Patrick Beverley posting a double-double of 10 points and 12 assists. Hornets 87, Pistons 77 Kemba Walker scored 25 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, as the Charlotte Hornets ground out an ugly 87-77 win over the Detroit Pistons. The Hornets shot just 34.1 percent from the field (30 of 88). However, they committed only five turnovers and made 16 more free throws than the visitors, going 21 of 29 from the line. The Hornets also got 14 points and 15 rebounds from Nicolas Batum. Marco Belinelli scored 13, and Marvin Williams added 12. Hawks 103, Heat 95 Center Dwight Howard posted his 16th double-double with 23 points and 17 rebounds to help the Atlanta Hawks end their seven-game losing streak with a 103-95 win over the Miami Heat. Howard shot 9-for-11 from the floor and was 5-for-6 at the line. Seven of his rebounds came on the offensive glass while he had four assists and two blocks. He was also instrumental in helping Atlanta limit Miami's Hassan Whiteside to only eight points -- 10 below his season average. Atlanta also got 21 points and nine rebounds from forward Paul Millsap and 17 points and seven assists from Dennis Schroder. Celtics 117, Magic 87 Avery Bradley scored 23 points in leading the Boston Celtics to a 117-87 victory over the Orlando Magic. The Celtics were without leading scorer Isaiah Thomas, who missed the game with a groin strain, but they still dominated the second half as the Magic never got closer than 12 points in the fourth quarter. Reserve guard Terry Rozier scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds. Amir Johnson scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds. Jae Crowder had 15 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Guard D.J. Augustin led the Magic with 15 points, but he failed to score in the second half. Pacers 109, Suns 94 Paul George scored 25 points and the Indiana Pacers pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 109-94 win over the Phoenix Suns. Myles Turner had 20 points and Jeff Teague added 19 for the Pacers. Eric Bledsoe had 15 points and Devin Booker had 13 for the Suns, who have lost five of their last six games.