George, Westbrook rally Thunder past Magic

Paul George scored 39 points, and Russell Westbrook's triple-double streak continued as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Orlando Magic 132-122 at home Tuesday night. The Thunder took control of the game with a 36-point third quarter, then held on late to win for the eighth time in the last nine games.

Orlando's two-game winning streak was snapped, and the Magic have lost eight of their last 11 games. Orlando led by 12 early in the third quarter, but from there the Thunder outscored the Magic 31-13 over the final nine minutes of the quarter and led 111-97 three minutes into the fourth.

The Magic didn't go away quietly, though, cutting the lead to as little as five with less than five minutes remaining, but couldn't get any closer. Westbrook finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds and 16 assists, clinching his seventh consecutive triple-double by the end of the third quarter.

It's the third such streak in Westbrook's career. Only Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan have had at least seven consecutive triple-doubles. Robertson holds the NBA record with nine consecutive triple-doubles. It was the sixth time in the last seven games that George has scored 36 or more points. Oklahoma City had seven players score in double figures for the second time this season.

Backup point guard Dennis Schroder had 20 points while Jerami Grant had 19 points and 11 rebounds. The Thunder shot 50 percent (46 of 92) from the floor and hit 13 3-pointers, including six from George.

Terrence Ross had 26 points off the bench to lead Orlando while Evan Fournier added 25. Aaron Gordon had 18 points and 10 assists. Before the game, the Magic announced rookie center Mohamed Bamba would miss significant time with a stress fracture in his left tibia. Bamba will not undergo surgery as the team hopes he'll respond to rest, treatment and rehabilitation.

Bamba did not travel with the team to Oklahoma City and missed his second consecutive game. He's averaging 6.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.36 blocks, fourth in the NBA among rookies. --Field Level Media

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