By JEFF LATZKE
AP Sports Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY — In a little over a week, the Oklahoma City Thunder have broken out of a midseason slump and made their case to be best team in the NBA.
Russell Westbrook scored 27 points, Kevin Durant added 26 points and 10 rebounds and the Thunder used an electrifying third quarter to beat Chicago 92-78 on Sunday and move within a game of the Bulls for the NBA’s best record.
One week earlier, the Thunder handed Miami its most lopsided defeat yet this season. Then they were even more dominating against the league-leading Bulls.
“Their numbers say what they are. There’s not much they don’t have,” Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said. “They play hard, they play unselfishly, they play smart, they’re tough. Their defense is excellent.”
The Thunder were scuffling in late March, having lost five out of 10 games while trying to put together a consistent stretch.
In a pair of Sunday games on their home court, they’ve outclassed the two other teams in the thick of the race for the No. 1 overall seed in the NBA playoffs.
“We just picked up the intensity, I think. Playing hard. I can’t stop saying it,” Durant said. “Every possession, we’ve just been trying to scramble as hard as we can on the defensive end and move the ball on the offensive end. We’ve got to keep it up.”
Oklahoma City beat the Heat 103-87 last Sunday.
The Bulls, who had not lost by more than 17 this season, only avoided their biggest loss of the season because the Thunder pulled their starters in the fourth quarter and reserve John Lucas III hit two 3-pointers in the final minute.
“It was disappointing, not that any game is more important than others. But obviously this was a game between the best team in the East and the best team in the West,” Chicago center Joakim Noah said.
Lucas had 19 points to lead the way for the Bulls (42-12), who played without All-Star point guard Derrick Rose for the 10th straight game. Chicago is now 14-6 this season without the reigning MVP and 7-3 during his current absence with a groin injury.
Kyle Korver replaced a slumping Ronnie Brewer in the starting lineup and scored 14.
“Derrick’s a great player. Obviously, we prefer to have him,” Thibodeau said. “But we have more than enough. I was more concerned tonight with the mental aspect. I thought we made a lot of mental mistakes.”
The Thunder (40-12) pulled away by outscoring Chicago 31-12 in the third quarter, allowing the Bulls to make only five of their 21 shots and forcing five turnovers. 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.
“We know it’s going to be tough for those guys without Derrick but they’ve been playing very well without him, winning some big games,” Durant said. “We couldn’t take them lightly.”
Durant and Westbrook were a combined 21-for-34 from the field and Oklahoma City shot 49 percent while limiting the Bulls to 33 percent.
Chicago came in with the NBA’s best road record at 21-6 and on a seven-game road winning streak, two shy of the franchise record set during the 1995-96 season when the Bulls set an NBA record by going 72-10.
The Bulls never led, falling behind by 10 in the first period and then letting Oklahoma City score the final six points of the first half to rebuild its lead to 49-39.
LAKERS 120
WARRIORS 112
LOS ANGELES — 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
ORLANDO, Fla. — Ty Lawson scored 12 of his 25 points in the second half and Arron Afflalo added 22 points as Denver beat short-handed Orlando.
The Nuggets won back-to-back games for the first time since a four-game win streak the first week of March. Al Harrington added 18 points.
Jameer Nelson led Orlando with 27 points, followed by Ryan Anderson with 20 and Glen Davis with 18. The Magic played without center Dwight Howard, who missed his first game of the season with back spasms.
RAPTORS 99
WIZARDS 92
TORONTO — 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 and James Johnson, Gary Forbes and Alan Anderson each had nine for the Raptors, who never trailed.
John Wall had 13 points and 11 assists and Kevin Seraphin scored a career-high 16 points for the Wizards.
PACERS 104
ROCKETS 102, OT
HOUSTON — Danny Granger scored 32 points, including two free throws with 15.7 seconds left in overtime, leading Indiana past Houston.
The Pacers led by one when Paul George turned the ball over. Courtney Lee grabbed it and looked to have tied the ball up for Houston, but he stumbled trying to wrestle it away from the Pacers and was called for traveling.
Granger’s free throws came next, before Chandler Parsons made a layup on the other end to again cut the lead to 1.
Goran Dragic led the Rockets with 22 points and Lee added 20.
SUNS 92
HORNETS 75
PHOENIX — 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. Channing Frye had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Marcin Gortat scored 13 and Steve Nash handed out 14 assists for the Suns.
Jason Smith and Marco Belinelli scored 14 apiece for the Hornets. Jarrett Jack added 13.
The Hornets, finishing off a five-game road trip, became the third team in the NBA and first in the West to lose 40 games.
TRAIL BLAZERS 119
TIMBERWOLVES 106
PORTLAND, Ore. — 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, who are 5-5 since interim coach Kaleb Canales replaced the fired Nate McMillan.
Oregon native Kevin Love had 26 points and nine rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost eight of their last 10 games. Minnesota used just nine players.
Both teams have been struggling to remain in the playoff picture. The Timberwolves have had injuries, including the loss of rookie Ricky Rubio for the season, while the Blazers have been adjusting to the dismissal of McMillan and the trade of starters Marcus Camby and Gerald Wallace at the deadline.
