Boston 84, Oklahoma City 89

Russell Westbook scored 31 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder overcame the absence of Kevin Durant by defeating the host Boston Celtics 89-84 Friday night.

Durant missed the game with a sore ankle injured in Wednesday’s game against Houston. The 2008 rookie of the year is leading the NBA with 28.0 points per game.

Westbrook picked up the scoring slack as Oklahoma City led the entire second half.

The Thunder (8-4) were up 83-74 with 7:11 to play in the fourth quarter and, despite missing 12 straight shots, they still led 85-82 with 1:16 to play.

Boston (9-3) got a pair of free throws from Delonte West to cut the deficit to 85-84 but Ray Allen missed a jumper that would have given Boston a lead with 23 seconds to play.

Westbrook then hit two free throws to give the Thunder an 87-84 lead. West missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with four seconds left and James Harden iced the contest with a pair of free throws.

Kevin Garnett led the way with 16 points for the Celtics, who had their three-game winning streak snapped,

• Boston will play their next game on the road against Toronto. The Celtics have a W/L % of .700 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
• Oklahoma City will play their next game on the road against Milwaukee . The Thunder have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .800 after a loss.