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Source: ABS-CBN News

-- The Boston Celtics continued their late-season push with a 94-82 rout of the hapless New Jersey Nets, while the Oklahoma City Thunder survived a gritty effort from the undermanned Minnesota Timberwolves.

After going into halftime tied at 48-all, the Celtics dominated the second half as they allowed New Jersey to score only 34 points in the third and fourth quarters.

Kevin Garnett (21 points, 12 rebounds) and Brandon Bass (18 points, 11 rebounds) both had double-doubles while Rajon Rondo had his 21st straight game with double-digit assists after dishing out 15 dimes.

"Garnett and Bass are a really good combination at the four and five, and that’s why they will have a chance come playoff time," Nets coach Avery Johnson said about the Celtics' frontcourt.

The Celtics push their record to 35-25 and now have a 3.5 game advantage over Philadelphia and New York in the Atlantic Division. With six games to go in the season, they are just three games behind Indiana for the third seed in the Eastern Conference.

It was Avery Bradley who provided the spark for the Celtics, when he made back-to-back three-pointers in the third quarter that opened up a double-digit lead for Boston, 69-57.

"Avery made two big threes for us, but the three was huge because it stretched the game open for us," said Boston coach Doc Rivers.

Bradley finished with 18 points, 11 of which came during the crucial third period.

"We know what he can do. It's just about him developing his confidence and I said it over and over again, the more he plays, the more we show confidence in him," Paul Pierce said of Bradley.

The Celtics held the Nets to 37% field goal shooting for the game and went on to lead by as much as 17 points in the second half.

"They played harder and played better. They took us out of our rhythm, and then we couldn't stop them at the other end," said New Jersey point guard Deron Williams.

Williams finished with 12 points and 14 assists for the Nets, who fell to 22-39 this season.

Meanwhile, Kevin Durant put together a brilliant scoring performance and the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder held off the Minnesota Timberwolves, 115-110.

Durant bucked foul trouble and scored 43 points on 15-of-23 shooting from the field on top of seven rebounds, and the Thunder managed to survive the Wolves, who were playing without All-Star forward Kevin Love (concussion).

"Every game against Minnesota is close," Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. "It's an overtime game or a last two-minute game. They play with a lot of confidence against us. Give them credit. They shot the ball well."

With Durant on the bench due to foul trouble in the third period, point guard Russell Westbrook kept the Wolves at bay, scoring 16 points in the period.

"Russell had it going in the third and he sacrificed for me to get some easy baskets," Durant said.

But with the Wolves knocking on the door in the final period, it was Durant who stepped up as he scored 20 points, including a dunk with 22 seconds to go that put OKC up five points, 112-107.

Minnesota managed to put up a challenge even with Love out thanks to strong play from their bench. Michael Beasley (26 points) and Anthony Randolph (22 points) came off the pine and backed up JJ Barea, who had 24 points and 10 assists.

But the Wolves could not make up for Love's absence on the boards, and the Thunder outrebounded them 53-39.

It was Oklahoma City's 44th victory against 16 losses this season. They remain one game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs (42-16) for the top spot in the West.

Meanwhile, the shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Washington Wizards, 98-89.

The Cavs played without Kyrie Irving and Antawn Jamison, but had six players in double figures in beating the Wizards.