Thunder’s winning streak ends

John Wall scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half as the Washington Wizards took advantage of a rare off-game from hometown star Kevin Durant in a 96-81 win over the Thunder on Saturday that stopped Oklahoma City’s 10-game winning streak.

Two days after being selected to the All-Star game for the first time, Wall also had 15 assists and six steals and went 7 for 11 from the field after halftime, more than making up for an 0-for-7 first half.

Trevor Ariza added 18 points and did a solid job defending Durant, whose 26 points came on 8-for-21 shooting, including 0 for 6 from 3-point range, along with five turnovers.

A win Monday against Portland would give Washington a winning record for the first time since October 2009.

Miami’s LeBron James had 30 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as the Heat avoided a winless season in New York by breaking the Knicks’ four-game winning streak 106-91.

Dwyane Wade added 22 points for the Heat, who avoided becoming the first team to go 0-4 in New York this season after losing on their previous trip to Madison Square Garden last month and both games in Brooklyn.

Carmelo Anthony had 26 points and eight rebounds for the Knicks, who had been 4-1 against the Heat over the last two seasons.

Clippers finish strongly

At Los Angeles, Jamal Crawford scored 27 points off the bench, and Blake Griffin had 25 points and 11 rebounds as the Clippers pulled away in the third quarter to beat the Utah Jazz 102-87.

The Clippers, looking to win their second straight division title, are 19-7 since 14th December and 11-4 since All-Star point guard Chris Paul separated his right shoulder.

They lead second-place Phoenix by 3½ games in the Pacific Division standings following the Suns’ victory over Charlotte.

DeAndre Jordan had 14 rebounds and 10 points during a foul-plagued 35 minutes. 

Enes Kanter led Utah with 23 points.

The Indiana Pacers came back to edge the Brooklyn Nets 97-96 after Paul George and Roy Hibbert both had 20 points.

Lance Stephenson, left out of the All-Star game despite leading the NBA in triple-doubles, added 14 points for the Pacers (36-10), who improved the league’s best home record to 22-2.

David West had 17 points and George Hill scored 10 and Shaun Livingston a season-high 24 points for the Nets.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Potland Trail Blazers over the Toronto Raptors 106-103, while San Antonio’s Tim Duncan had 23 points and 17 rebounds, and Tony Parker added 18 points and 10 assists in the Spurs’ 95-93 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Houston’s James Harden returned from injury to score 28 points and Jeremy Lin had his first career triple-double as the Rockets downed the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-92.

In other games, the Detroit Pistons defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 113-96, the Atlanta Hawks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-113, the New Orleans Pelicans downed the Chicago Bulls 88-79, the Memphis Grizzlies ran out 99-90 winners over the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns overcame the Charlotte Bobcats 105-95.