DeRozan steals the Thunder

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook (centre) drives to the basket in their game against Toronto Raptors. (Photo: AP)

Try as they might, the Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t slow down Toronto Raptors star DeMar DeRozan on Wednesday.

DeRozan scored 37 points and Toronto broke through the Thunder’s stifling defence to hand them their first home loss of the season with a 112-102 victory at Chesapeake Energy Center arena.

“You have to have toughness to go against this team,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said of the Thunder.

“You have to have a strong constitution to be able to come in here and compete with the Thunder.”

That answer came in the form of DeRozan, who made 13 of 22 shots from the field and 11 of 15 from the free-throw line as

he scored a game-high 37 in front of a crowd of 18,200.

DeRozan has been on an impressive run. Heading into Wednesday’s game, the 27-year-old guard out of the University of Southern California has averaged 33.7 points on 52 percent shooting to kick off the season.

DeRozan is averaging more than nine free throw attempts a game, which is putting opposing defences on their heels.

Kyle Lowry had 19 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds for Toronto. Patrick Patterson came off the bench to score 13 points.

“A couple of guys started knocking down shots,” DeRozan said. “We’re going to continue to get better.

Russell Westbrook nearly matched DeRozan by scoring 36 points for the Thunder.

Clippers run riot in LA In Los Angeles, Blake Griffin finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds and five assists as the first place Los Angeles Clippers rolled over the Portland Trail Blazers 111-80.

It was the largest margin of victory by the Clippers over the Trail Blazers.

Chris Paul scored 19 points and handed out seven assists as the Clippers improved to 7-1. The won their fourth in a row and lead the Western Conference.

Rockets edge Spurs in thriller. In San Antonio, James Harden scored 24 points and dished out 15 assists to lead five Houston players in double figures as the Rockets held on for a 101-99 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Harden also had 12 rebounds, giving him his first triple-double of the season.

Leonard hit a step-back jumper to cut the advantage to 101-99 late in the game.

Harden then missed a three-pointer, and Leonard missed a jump shot.

Harden had the ball with 27 seconds left to try to expand the advantage. He drove into the paint but was called for a charge, giving the Spurs a final shot for the victory with five seconds remaining.

The Spurs got the ball to Leonard, who drove the lane. His layup was contested and bounced off the rim.

Warriors punish Mavs In Oakland, Klay Thompson scored 18 of his 20 points in the first eight minutes of the game as the Golden State Warriors spoiled homecoming for Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut with a 116-95 rout of the undermanned Dallas Mavericks.

Facing the Warriors for the first time since leaving as a free agent in the offseason, Barnes matched his best point total at Oracle Arena with 25 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds.

Bogut, who was dealt to Dallas in a cost-cutting move by Golden State in July, was one of six Mavericks either being rested or injured.

Rambis leads Knicks’ charge Just one day after Kurt Rambis took control of the New York defence, the Knicks held an opponent to under 100 points for the first time this season.

The 58-year-old Rambis was tasked with turning the Knicks’ defence around on Tuesday when head coach Jeff Hornacek named him defensive co-ordinator.

Rambis looked like a genius in his first game in charge on Wednesday as the Knicks defeated the crosstown rival Brooklyn Nets 110-96 at Madison Square Garden.

New York outscored the Nets 60-41 in the second half while holding them to 28 percent shooting from the floor. They also forced 18 turnovers.