Williams, Harden silence Thunder

HOUSTON – Lou Williams scored 31 points while James Harden finished with 22 points and 12 assists as the Houston Rockets cruised to a 137-125 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.

Oklahoma City star Russell Westbrook had 39 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists for his second straight triple-double and his 36th this season, but Harden led the Rockets to a 25-point lead through three quarters in the matchup between top MVP candidates.

Trevor Ariza and Eric Gordon added 24 points apiece for the Rockets, whose lead was trimmed to eight on a 3-pointer by Westbrook with about 90 seconds left. The Rockets then scored four quick points to secure the victory.

Harden left late in the game after crashing into the court and appearing to injure his left wrist, but said in a TV interview he expected to be OK.

In Oakland, Klay Thompson scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half as Golden State pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Memphis for its seventh straight win, 106-94.

Stephen Curry added 21 points and 11 assists, and Andre Iguodala scored 20 as the Warriors (59-14) extended their lead to 2 1/2 games over the Spurs for the top spot in the West. Golden State began a stretch of five games in eight days when the Warriors will face playoff contenders Houston (twice), San Antonio and Washington.

Memphis had beaten the Warriors twice this season and was attempting to become the first team to notch three regular-season wins against Golden State since the Spurs’ four-game sweep in 2013-14.

Elsewhere, it was Pelicans 115, Nuggets 90; Bulls 109, Bucks 94; Kings 98, Clippers 97; Hornets 120, Suns 106; Pacers 107, 76ers 94; Nets 107, Hawks 91; Trail Blazers 97, Lakers 81; Celtics 112, Heat 108.