Westbrook's 37 lead Thunder past 76ers for 8th straight win

By CLIFF BRUNT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Russell Westbrook scored 37 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Philadelphia 76ers 122-112 on Sunday night for their eighth straight victory.

Westbrook made just 6 of 20 shots in the first half, when he was knocked to the ground trying to take a charge as Joel Embiid threw down a vicious dunk over him . He was 8 of 13 in the second half and also had 14 assists and nine rebounds.

Paul George scored 31 points and Steven Adams added 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder, who swept the season series after their triple-overtime victory in Philadelphia in December.

Embiid had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Ben Simmons added 22 points for the 76ers.

It was a bittersweet day for the Thunder. The team announced Sunday that guard Andre Roberson is expected to miss the rest of the season after having surgery on a ruptured left patella tendon. Roberson, who was a second-team All-Defense selection last season, was injured when his knee buckled and he fell during the third quarter Saturday at Detroit.

George hit a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer to trim Philadelphia's lead to 58-57.

A dunk by Simmons put the 76ers up 75-68 early in the third before the Thunder got things going. Oklahoma City went on a 12-0 run, and a reverse layup by Westbrook put the Thunder up 86-79 and forced the 76ers to call timeout. George closed out the surge with a 3-pointer that put Oklahoma City up 10.

The Thunder led 92-83 at the end of the third. Oklahoma City shot 60 percent from the field in the period and held Embiid to two points.

Philadelphia left its starters in to start the fourth, and they helped the 76ers take a 98-97 lead early in the quarter.

Oklahoma City pulled away late. Westbrook's 3-pointer with just under three minutes to play put the Thunder up seven, and he followed with a jumper to make it a nine-point game with two minutes left.

TIP-INS

76ers: Embiid picked up his third foul with 8:34 left in the second quarter and the 76ers up 37-36, but he played the rest of the half.

Thunder: F Patrick Patterson knocked heads with Embiid in the second quarter and left the game because of the blood rule. He returned later. ... Former University of Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer attended the game.

UP NEXT

76ers: Travel to Milwaukee on Monday.

Thunder: Travel to Washington on Tuesday.

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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP .

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