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(SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Durant will continue his campaign for MVP Thursday, when the Oklahoma City Thunder welcome the Los Angeles Lakers to Chesapeake Energy Arena. Watch the Lakers vs. Thunder live tonight on TSN2 starting at 9:30pm et/6:30pm pt. Durant is the NBAs leading scorer with 31.9 points per game and is averaging 35.7 ppg in his last 12. He helped the Thunder to a 106-98 win over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday with a 42-point performance on 12-of-22 shooting. He also made 13-of-16 from the foul line. Russell Westbrook scored 24 points and Serge Ibaka chipped in 12 to go with 16 rebounds, as the Thunder ended a two-game losing streak and won for the fourth time in the last six tries. Oklahoma City held the high-scoring Rockets to 41.8 percent shooting and used a 30-17 advantage in the second quarter to build a sizeable lead. "Defensively I thought we did a great job of locking in for four quarters," said Westbrook. The Thunder will close out their three-game homestand Sunday versus Dallas and have won four in a row in the OKC. They are 27-6 as the host, including a 17-2 mark against visiting Western foes. Oklahoma City, which is headed toward another playoff berth, also sits one game behind San Antonio for the Wests top seed. Now that Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant is officially done for the season with a balky knee, the team can move on. The team made the announcement Wednesday. "With Kobes injury still not healed, the amount of time hed need to rehab and be ready to play, and the amount of time remaining in the season, weve simply run out of time for him to return," Lakers trainer Gary Vitti said. "However, Kobe will have the entire offseason to heal, rehab and prepare, and we look forward to him being 100 percent for the start of next season." Bryant also made a statement. "Obviously this has been a frustrating and disappointing season, but I appreciate all the support Ive received from the Lakers and the fans, and look forward to being back and ready for the start of training camp." The Lakers will play two in a row on the road against Oklahoma City and San Antonio, and have an 11-22 record as the visitor this season. The well-rested Lakers won the last time out in a 114-110 victory over the Thunder on Sunday and were led by Jodie Meeks career-high 42 points. Meeks sank 6-of-11 3-pointers and scored 20 points in the third quarter, while Pau Gasol ended with 20 points and 11 rebounds for Los Angeles, which ended a three-game slide and won for just the fourth time in the past 14 tries. "Jodie Meeks has been our most consistent performer all year," said Lakers head coach Mike DAntoni. In milestone news, Gasol will play in his 900th career game. L.A. snapped a three-game losing streak to the Thunder last weekend, but has lost eight of the past 11 meetings between the teams. The Lakers have lost four in a row at Oklahoma City. Mark McGwire Jersey .ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams. Yadier Molina Jersey . The Nuggets leading scorer, Lawson is characterized as day to day by the team. Hes averaging 17.9 points and 8.9 assists. Lawson suffered the injury late in Denvers win Sunday at Sacramento. http://www.authenticcardinalspro.com/cardinals-ken-boyer-jersey/ .Y. - Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby captured his second career Art Ross trophy on Sunday after leading the NHL in scoring this season. Marcell Ozuna Cardinals Jersey . The Detroit Tigers star had microfracture surgery Friday to repair the medial and lateral meniscus in his left knee. "I dont want to say it was a surprise," team president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said. Michael Wacha Jersey . Granato was an assistant for the Pittsburgh Penguins for the last five seasons, and he was also part of Team USAs staff at the 2014 Olympics.MINNEAPOLIS -- Brian Dozier doesnt like talking about his power-hitting abilities. When told his manager referred to him as Minnesotas "igniter" over the past couple of games -- during which he homered on consecutive nights -- the Twins second baseman looked embarrassed. "The igniter? Oh goodness," Dozier said Saturday night after hitting a three-run homer that proved to be the game-winning hit in Minnesotas 4-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Then he was told "The Ignitor" was the nickname for Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, the former Twins player and current coach. "Thats pretty cool. . Ill take it," Dozier said with a laugh. So will the Twins. Doziers homer in the fifth inning put Minnesota ahead for good, Samuel Deduno tossed six sharp innings for his first win as the Twins moved a game over .500 -- a rarity in these parts over the past three years. With Minnesota trailing 2-1, Dozier followed consecutive singles by Aaron Hicks and Eduardo Escobar by sending a curveball from Roenis Elias (3-3) into the seats in left field. It was Doziers 11th homer of the season. "Hes our igniter," Gardenhire said. "If we can get the bottom of the order to get on base, and roll it over, hes going to come up with more and more RBI opportunities and thats kind of what were looking for, and tonight he delivered." Dozier had a solo homer on Friday night; Saturday night marked the fifth time in his career he homered in consecutive games. His 20 home runs at Target Field ties him for fourth all-time with former Twins slugger Justin Morneau. He leads the A.L. with 40 runs scored. "My job is to get on base, whether its my hits or anything, on base is my biggest stat," said Dozier, who extended his current hitting streak to a season-high eight games. Michael Saunders had a homer and two RBIs for Seattle. Deduno (1-2) struck out four, allowed two hits and retired 18 of the 23 batters he faced. Both of Seattles runs off Deduno came in the third inning after James Jones triple scored Brad Miller..dddddddddddd Jones scored on Saunders sacrifice fly to give the Mariners a one-run lead. But Deduno was otherwise solid, working efficiently through Seattles lineup over the next three innings while Elias struggled with his control. Elias allowed six hits and one walk in seven innings, but he also hit a batter, and had a wild pitch and a balk in the second inning. Elias teammates and manager sounded pleased with his performance, even saying his curveball that Dozier homered on was a good pitch. "I went back right after that inning to check where it was and I thought it was a really good pitch," catcher Mike Zunino said. "(Dozier) just dropped the head on it and was able to elevate it." Seattle pulled to 4-3 in the eighth when Saunders hit a solo homer off Jared Burton. Corey Hart doubled two batters later, but Burton got Kyle Seager swinging to end the threat. Glen Perkins worked the ninth for his 12th save in 14 chances. The Mariners have lost four straight. "Well figure it out. Its a little tough right now," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "One thing I pointed out right from the start, winning games at this level is tough. One thing here and one thing there will cause you to lose. Well figure this offence out and well be OK." NOTES: The Twins havent been above .500 since April 27. ... McClendon decided to skip RHP Brandon Maurers turn in the rotation for Seattles upcoming two-game series at Texas. Maurer (1-2) has a 6.00 ERA. . LHP James Paxton (strained back) threw a two-inning simulated game Saturday, and Tijuan Walker (shoulder) threw a bullpen session. Both players may throw more simulated games in Texas. ... Twins bench coach Terry Steinbach missed the game to attend his sons college graduation in Duluth. ... Jones has recorded a hit in all nine of his starts. He drove in his first career run. ... Minnesota goes for the series sweep on Sunday when RHP Ricky Nolasco (2-3) faces Mariners RHP Felix Hernandez (4-1) who is 6-5 in 15 career starts versus the Twins. ' ' '