NBA: Cavaliers falter in the absence of LeBron James
Last Updated: 12/12/14 8:45am
The Oklahoma City Thunder profited from the absence of LeBron James to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-94 on Thursday night.
The totemic forward sat out the game because of a knee injury and, without him, the Cavs' eight-game winning streak came to an end; James is expected to return to the court on Friday in New Orleans.
Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 26 points, while Kevin Durant added 19.
"They're a talented team, even without LeBron James," Durant said. "They still have Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Anderson Varejao, some very good players.
"We knew we couldn't come in here, because their best players were out and not play as hard as we can. They hit us in the mouth early and I think we responded well."
Elsewhere, James Harden scored 12 of his season-high 44 points in overtime as he led the Houston Rockets to a 113-109 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Houston rallied from nine points down in the fourth quarter to force the extra period, and Harden started it with seven unanswered points as the Rockets took control.
The win lifts Houston to 17-5, one game back on Memphis in the Southwest Division.