Russell Westbrook had 21 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder pull away from the Bulls for an easy 109-94 victory Monday night.Steven Adams scored 22 points and Enes Kanter had 20 points and 11 rebounds, leading a dominant performance inside for Oklahoma City. Victor Oladipo added 13 points.Dwyane Wade led the Bulls with 22 points, and Michael Carter-Williams had 15. Cristiano Felicio finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.The Bulls had won three in a row and five of seven, but they were no match for the Thunder with Jimmy Butler hampered by an illness. The reigning Eastern Conference player of week had one point on 0-for-6 shooting and seven assists in 29 minutes before exiting in the third quarter.

Ryan Hartman scored off a goalmouth scramble in the third period and tacked on two empty-netters, helping the Blackhawks beat the banged-up Nashville Predators 5-2 on Sunday night.Artemi Panarin and Niklas Hjalmarsson also scored for the Blackhawks, who have won the first three of a four-game homestand. Patrick Kane added three assists, running his team-best total to 32 in 43 games, and Corey Crawford made 25 saves.Hartman was credited with his eighth of the season when Richard Panik’s shot created a scrum in front of the net, and the referees ruled the puck crossed the line before the goal was dislodged. It looked as if the puck might have gone off Hartman’s left hand while he battled Nashville defenseman Yannick Weber for position.The Predators pulled Pekka Rinne for an extra attacker with 1:39 left, and Hartman added two more goals for his first career hat trick. The big night for the rookie moved him into fifth on the team with 10 goals.Nashville lost for the third time in four games. Mattias Ekholm and Austin Watson scored for the Predators, and Rinne finished with 26 stops.The Predators played without defenseman P.K. Subban and forwards James Neal, Colin Wilson and Viktor Arvidsson. Subban has been out since Dec. 15 with an upper-body injury, and Neal was placed on injured reserve Saturday with an upper-body injury. Arvidsson missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury, and Wilson was inactive after he left Friday’s 2-1 loss at Florida with an injury.But Nashville was in position to possibly steal one on the road before Hartman’s closing flurry. The Predators tied it at 2 early in the third when Mike Fisher’s shot got past Crawford and went off the post before Watson poked it in.Defenseman Ryan Ellis had a shot go off the right post about 5 1/2 minutes into the third, and the Predators had a couple more prime scoring opportunities in the final period.The Blackhawks jumped in front in the first when Kane skated into the middle of the Nashville zone and passed it over to Panarin, who drove a one-timer over Rinne’s right shoulder from the outside of the left circle at 7:45.Panarin, who also scored in Friday night’s 2-1 win against Carolina, nearly picked up a second goal in the second, but Rinne got over for a terrific left pad save. The Russian winger has 20 points in his last 18 games.Nashville bounced right back after Panarin’s 17th of the season, tying it at 1 just 45 seconds later. Fisher made a nice pass to Ekholm, who beat Crawford from the left circle for his second goal of the season.

NOTES—It was Joel Quenneville’s 1,500th regular-season game as an NHL head coach. He is 389-194-78 in nine seasons with the Hawks. … Actor Bill Murray attended the game…..The Blackhawks host the hated Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night.

LINCOLN—Northwestern came to Nebraska off two straight losses and went into halftime at Pinnacle Bank Arena on the wrong end of a dizzying 14-0 run that wiped out its double-digit lead.

”We know we have good players, we know we have a good team,” Wildcats coach Chris Collins said. ”But can we be tough? In this league, you have to be incredibly tough to win.”

The Wildcats were tough enough Sunday, winning 74-66 against a Nebraska team that started the day alone in first place in the Big Ten.Scottie Lindsey scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half and Northwestern withstood the run that stretched to 16-0 early in the second half.

”I think it gives a lot of our confidence back,” Lindsey said. ”We’d lost two straight games, and it’s easy to fold like that. We wanted to come in here against a team that’s proven that they’re here to stay; they’re No. 1 in the conference right now. We wanted to come in here and get a big win, and we did.”

Vic Law was 5 for 6 on 3-pointers and finished with 15 points for the Wildcats (13-4, 2-2 Big Ten), who also got 13 points from Dererk Pardon.Tai Webster scored 17 points to lead the Huskers (9-7, 3-1), who lost for the first time in five games.Northwestern made its first five 3s of the second half, with Law hitting one to give the Wildcats a 56-50 lead. The Huskers got no closer than five points the rest of the way.

”We knew they had shooters, and one quick letup and just like that it’s five 3s, and they go on a run and now we’re playing catch-up,” Nebraska’s Evan Taylor said. ”It’s a learning lesson. We have to get better moving forward.”

The Huskers looked ready to blow out the Wildcats after they outscored them 14-0 over the last 1:42 of the half to go up 37-33, with Webster popping a 3 just before the buzzer.

”Initially a little shell-shocked,” Collins said, describing his players’ mood at half. ”I think we were angry but initially we couldn’t really express it because we felt we were in control of the game. The tempo was to our liking, we were playing pretty good defense. It hit us like a buzz saw. Webster hits the 3 at the buzzer and you’re down four. That was a critical time for our team.”

Northwestern matched its season high with 11 3s on 24 attempts. The Wildcats shot 50 percent in the second half and 51 percent for the game. The Huskers mustered just 37.5 percent after halftime and 43.1 percent overall.

”They packed it in and dared us to shoot outside shots,” Taylor said. ”I thought their defensive game plan was good, but we kind of got timid on offense.”

The Huskers, trying to start conference play 4-0 for the first time since 1975-76, got 12 points from Michael Jacobson and 11 from Taylor. But Glynn Watson Jr., who had a career-high 34 against Iowa on Thursday, was held to just six points.

”You live and die by the jumper,” Jacobson said. ”If you’re making them, everything looks good. As soon as they don’t go in, it’s pretty ugly.”

The Wildcats are in the middle of playing four of its first five conference games on the road for the first time since 1955-56. Beating the Huskers was almost a must for a team that harbors hopes of making the NCAA Tournament for the first time.The Huskers were coming off their thrilling double-overtime victory over Iowa on Thursday, and it didn’t look like they were short on energy early. But it became apparent fatigue was a factor as Northwestern began winning most the loose balls and Nebraska’s shooting took a dive in the second half.

”One of our better wins, if you consider what Nebraska was playing like. They were the hottest team in our league… They have one game they’d like to have back. Everybody says, `Oh, they lost to Gardner-Webb.’ We all have a game where you’re a little braindead in the nonconference before Christmas. For us to come in here and steal one on the road was huge for our team and program.” – Collins….Northwestern visits Rutgers on Thursday.

Jimmy Butler scored 42 points, and the Bulls overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Toronto Raptors 123-118 in overtime Saturday night.Butler led a big run in the fourth quarter and hit a 3 with 17.3 seconds left in overtime for a five-point lead.He also hit the 40-point mark for the third time in six games. Dwyane Wade added 20 points, and Doug McDermott had 17 to help the Bulls win their 10th in a row against Toronto.DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 36 points. Kyle Lowry added 27 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, but the Atlantic Division leaders lost for the fourth time in six games.The Raptors led by 19 late in the third, only to see the Bulls come charging back.It was tied in overtime when McDermott hit three free throws and cut for a dunk to give the Bulls a 116-111 lead with 2:18 remaining. Two free throws by Lowry made it a three-point game. But Terrence Ross missed potential tying 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions. Butler hit two free throws after DeMarre Carroll converted 1 of 2 to make it 118-114 with 1:06 remaining. Lowry then drove for a layup to cut it to two, but Butler nailed a dagger 3 from the wing to make it 121-116 with 17.3 seconds left.All that happened after a wild finish in regulation, with both teams missing in the closing seconds.Wade missed a spinning, driving layup and Felicio missed the tip-in. Toronto had a chance to win, but DeRozan missed a floater and Lowry could not knock down a fadeaway as time expired.The Raptors led 82-63 late in the third quarter and were up 99-87 midway through the fourth when the Bulls went on a 14-0 run.Butler, who had 14 points in the fourth against Cleveland, scored nine in that stretch and fed Wade for a layup to put the Bulls on top 101-99 with three minutes left. After Lowry hit a jumper for Toronto, Mirotic made a corner 3 to put the Bulls back on top 104-101 with 2:18 left.

NOTES—Toronto has not beaten the Bulls since Dec. 31, 2013. … F Patrick Patterson missed his fourth straight game because of a strained left knee…..Rajon Rondo did not play for the fourth straight game. … G Denzell Valentine missed his second consecutive game because of a sprained left ankle….The Bulls host Oklahoma City on Monday.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—James Blackmon Jr. scored 25 points, Thomas Bryant finished with 20 No. 25 Indiana defeated Illinois 96-80 on Saturday for its first Big Ten Conference win of the season.Illinois was scoreless for the first 6 minutes of the game, during which time the Hoosiers (11-5, 1-2) jumped out to a 13-0 lead. Indiana led for the entire game, and was up by as many as 22 points. Illinois pulled within 10 points of the Hoosiers with less than 5 minutes remaining in the game, but Indiana stretched its lead one final time.Robert Johnson finished with 18 points for Indiana and OG Anunoby had 12 points.Jalen Coleman-Lands and Malcolm Hill scored 21 points each and Maverick Morgan finished with 18 for Illinois (11-5, 1-2).The Illini finished the first half shooting 29 percent from the field (7 of 24) and finished the game at 44 percent (24 of 54).The Hoosiers made seven of 13 3-point attempts in the first half. Indiana’s offensive onslaught was a product of a balanced offense as 22 of the Hoosiers’ 29 field goals came by way of an assist.

After getting their first Big Ten win in front of their home crowd at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, the Hoosiers will hit the road for four of their remaining six conference games in the month of January (Maryland, Penn State, Michigan, Northwestern)….After being ranked as high as No. 3 this season, the Hoosiers found themselves on the verge of being unranked, falling to No. 25 after losing four of their last six games. Saturday’s win should give Indiana a much needed bump in rankings….Illinois hosts Michigan on Wednesday

TERRE HAUTE—MiKyle McIntosh scored a career-high 31 points, reaching his season high of 21 in the first half, and Illinois State beat Indiana State 77-58 on Saturday for its fifth straight win.The Redbirds (12-4, 4-0 Missouri Valley) won for the eighth time in nine games and are off to their best start in conference play since 2007-08 when they went 6-0. The victory was also the first in Terre Haute since Feb. 14, 2007.Illinois State made nine 3-pointers to lead 47-24, its largest halftime lead this season. The Redbirds finished 13 of 25 from the arc with McIntosh making all five of his 3-pointers. The lead remained in double figures in the second half.Deontae Hawkins added 14 points, Paris Lee added 13 and seven assists, becoming the seventh Redbird to reach 400 career assists, and Phil Fayne had a career-high 11 rebounds.Everett Clemons and Jordan Barnes had 14 points each for Indiana State (6-10, 0-4), which is 0-4 in league play for the first time since 2004-05.

NEWARK—Angel Delgado had his ninth-consecutive double-double, Desi Rodriguez scored 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting and Seton Hall cruised to an 87-56 win over DePaul on Saturday.Delgado made 8 of 9 from the field and finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds while Rodriguez hit 5 of 7 from 3-point range. Myles Powell hit four 3s – including a 4-point play – for 13 points and Khadeen Carrington scored 10 with four assists and three steals.Rodriguez made a layup, a dunk and then hit a 3 to give Seton Hall (12-3, 2-1 Big East) a 7-2 lead it wouldn’t relinquish. The junior forward made all nine of his shots and scored 23 in the first half as the Pirates led 41-31 at the break. Powell’s 4-point play and a 3-point play by Carrington capped a 26-4 run to open the second half and Seton Hall cruised from there.Billy Garrett Jr. had 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting for the Blue Demons (7-8, 0-2). No other DePaul player scored in double figures and the rest of the team shot 27.9 percent (12 of 43) from the field.Seton Hall, which has won eight of its last nine, shot 54 percent, hit a season-high 13 3-pointers and tied a season-best with 21 assists.

Scott Darling’s 6-foot-6 frame was awfully handy Friday night.Darling had a season-high 39 saves, kicking out his long legs for a couple key stops, and the Blackhawks beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 for their second straight win.Jonathan Toews and Artemi Panarin scored for the Hawks, who were coming off a 4-3 overtime victory against Buffalo on Thursday night. The consecutive wins against the Sabres and Hurricanes come in the aftermath of a 1-4-1 slump.

”We needed to get back to our winning ways,” said Darling, who backs up Corey Crawford. ”It’s not fun to lose. We want to have fun and win. It was a fun two nights.”

Cam Ward made 22 saves in his 15th straight start for Carolina, which won 4-2 at St. Louis on Thursday. Victor Rask had Carolina’s goal, connecting against Darling on the Hurricanes’ 31st shot with 4.2 seconds left in the second.The Hurricanes have dropped three of four.

”A huge tribute to our goaltender for winning there and coming up with two points,” Toews said.

Panarin’s 16th of the season stopped a six-game drought. Toews got his seventh goal.Carolina beat Darling 3-2 in Raleigh on Dec. 30 in their only other regular-season meeting. But the Hurricanes felt Darling was the difference in the rematch.

”I think I’ve played against him since I was 20 years old in the AHL and he keeps getting better and better every year,” said Ty Rattie, who got his first point with the Hurricanes in his second game with his new team. ”It’s going to be scary how good he gets as his career goes on.He covers 95 percent of the net to begin with and then he’s quick.”

Carolina controlled much of the first period, but the Blackhawks led 1-0 after 20 minutes. Toews finished off a crisp passing sequence with linemates Marian Hossa and Vinnie Hinostroza, scoring from the low edge of the left circle at 12:13.The Hurricanes got 19 shots on goal in the first, and Darling stopped every one of them. The Blackhawks killed off two Carolina power plays, with Darling making a sliding right pad stop on Justin Faulk’s shot from the left circle with 5:30 to go in the period.Ward stopped Patrick Kane’s backhander on a breakaway a minute into the second. Darling made another lunging right pad save to deny Jordan Staal on a short-handed, 2-on-1 break at 3:13.Panarin’s power-play goal from the left circle with 6:31 left in the second made it 2-0. After Duncan Keith narrowly held the puck in the Carolina zone, Kane swept a cross-ice pass to Panarin, who beat Ward low on the glove side.Rask cut it to 2-1 in the closing moments of the second with his 11th goal, finishing a close-in flurry. After Darling kicked out Jeff Skinner’s shot from the left wing and stopped Rattie from the slot, Rask swept in the rebound from the right side of the crease.Carolina’s Derek Ryan hit the left post with a shot 3:05 into the third. The Blackhawks checked well – Carolina had nine shots in the period – and Darling was sharp the rest of the way to preserve the lead.

NOTES—The Blackhawks sent D Gustav Forsling and F Spencer Abbott to Rockford of the AHL. The 20-year-old Forsling played in 32 games with the big club and had a goal and three assists while averaging 14:49 minutes of ice time. Abbott had been called up for Thursday’s win over Buffalo. … Brian Campbell played after sitting out Thursday’s game. … Rattie was claimed on waivers from St. Louis on Wednesday. … Carolina LW Teuvo Teravainen, the Hawks first-round draft pick in 2012, played his first game at the United Center since his trade to the Hurricanes last June. LW Bryan Bickell, sidelined with multiple sclerosis, also went to Carolina in the deal that netted the Blackhawks two draft picks.The Blackhawk are home to Nashville on Sunday in their third home game in four nights.

Patrick Kane stayed on the ice long enough to shoot the Blackhawks to a sorely needed victory.Kane scored 56 seconds into overtime, Artem Anisimov had two goals and the Blackhawks beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 on Thursday night.Jonathan Toews set up Kane’s 12th goal when he forced Anders Nilsson to make a left pad save. The rebound went right to the reigning NHL MVP, who knocked it into the open side of net before Nilsson could recover.Coach Joel Quenneville was trying to get Kane off the ice before he scored the winning goal .

”The time I wanted him to come was the right time and then he knew that then it was a little too late, that he had to stay,” Quenneville said. ”I give him credit. He knows the game.”

The Central Division-leading Blackhawks had dropped three in a row at home and five of six overall. Kane also had two assists against his hometown team, and Corey Crawford made 17 stops in the Hawks 10th consecutive victory against Buffalo.

”Nothing better than beating Buffalo, right?” a grinning Kane said as he addressed the crowd after the game.

Kyle Okposo had a goal and an assist for the Sabres, and Ryan O’Reilly had two assists in his return from an appendectomy. Jack Eichel also scored and Nilsson finished with 39 stops.Buffalo dropped to 3-9 in overtime and shootouts.

”Too many overtime losses this year,” Eichel said. ”It’s painful.”

The game was tied at 2 when O’Reilly found Eichel for a one-timer from the left circle at 1:10 of the third. It was Buffalo’s second power-play goal in three opportunities and Eichel’s eighth goal in 17 games this season.The Sabres then kept the action away from Nilsson for much of the third. The Blackhawks finally broke through when Kane got a backhander to the net and Anisimov knocked in the rebound for his team-best 18th goal with 2:04 remaining in regulation.

”He’s so skilled and when he gets those chances in front, he’s not going to miss them too often,” Kane said. ”He’s patient, he’s skilled and he knows where to put the puck.”

Buffalo also jumped in front in each of the first two periods, only to have the Blackhawks rally each time.

”There is a lot of disappointment giving up that game with the opportunity to win,” Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said.

Marcus Foligno intercepted a clearing attempt by Brent Seabrook in the first and beat Crawford on the glove side for his sixth of the season at 7:21. But Ryan Hartman responded for the Blackhawks, splitting Okposo and Sabres defenseman Taylor Fedun before sending a hard wrist shot over Nilsson’s glove at 16:20.The Hawks outshot Buffalo 20-6 in the first, but Hartman’s seventh of the season was all it could manage against Nilsson.The teams exchanged goals again 18 seconds apart in the second. After the Blackhawks were whistled for too many men on the ice, Okposo stuffed one home from the side of the net for his team-best 12th goal. Anisimov then sent a wrist shot over Nilsson’s glove for his team-best 17th of the season, tying it at 2 with 1:32 remaining in the period.

NOTES—Duncan Keith got his 400th career assist on Anisimov’s second goal. … O’Reilly had an appendectomy during the NHL’s holiday break and missed four games. D Josh Gorges also returned to Buffalo’s lineup after he missed Tuesday’s 4-1 victory against the New York Rangers with a hip injury, but F William Carrier was scratched with an illness. …Marian Hossa returned after missing five games with an injury. …Brian Campbell was a healthy scratch. … Sabres C Zemgus Girgensons turned 23 on Thursday….The Blackhawks host Carolina on Friday night.

CLEVELAND—LeBron James was reminded what it’s like to be Cleveland’s only star.Lonesome and no fun.Jimmy Butler took over in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 straight points during a critical stretch and leading the Bulls to a 106-94 win Wednesday night over the Cavaliers, who had a less-than-100 percent James and were without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.Butler, who was coming off a 52-point game against Charlotte, scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth as the Bulls held off Cleveland’s rally and ended the Cavs’ 13-game winning streak with James in the lineup.Butler said Dwyane Wade, who returned to his hometown this summer, encouraged his new teammate to take control.

”The guy who wears No. 3 on this team came to me and was like, `Win the game,”’ Butler said. ”So I guess a switch cut on. I knew I was going to have to do that in the fourth anyway, but with him telling me that, you can’t let D-Wade down.He’s been doing it for years. It was my time to step up.”

James, who has been battling a head cold for several days, was questionable until about 20 minutes before the game, when the Cavs announced he would be the one – and only – member of Cleveland’s ”Big 3” in uniform. He finished with 31 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 37 minutes.James was forced to go it alone as Irving missed his third straight game with a hamstring issue that appears to be more serious than first diagnosed and Love is still recovering from a nasty case of food poisoning.James said there was never any question he would play.

”If I can walk, I can go,” he said, ”unless coach tells me to sit down. My plan was to play.”

But without Irving and Love, the Cavs didn’t have enough firepower to slow the Bulls, who got 17 points from Doug McDermott and made a season-high 13 3-pointers.The Bulls made just 1 of 8 3s in the first quarter before finding their range. They dropped 11 of their next 14 and built a 15-point lead when James went to the bench with 3:30 left in the third quarter.But Cleveland’s reserves cut the Bulls lead to four when James returned with 8:49 remaining. He made two straight layups to pull the Cavs within 89-88 and was driving for the go-ahead bucket when Butler stepped in front of him in the lane and drew a charge.

”He’s coming at you full speed, that’s the right play to make,” Butler said. ”It could go either way, obviously. You’ve got to brace yourself. I got all my pads here somewhere. We’ve got all of that for a reason.”

James didn’t argue about the foul.

”It was a good call,” James said.

Butler then hit a 3-pointer on the next possession, and Cleveland never got closer than eight and had its home winning streak ended at nine.The Cavs are set to embark on a season-long, six-game road trip. James was asked if it’s coming at a good time with the injury and illnesses.

”I don’t know until we know who’s active,” he said. ”I don’t know if it’s going to be a good time or not until we know who’s active and who’s playing. See what happens.”

Wade scored 10 points in 27 minutes after missing Monday’s game with a swollen left knee. He said it feels better but the team will monitor him closely.

”This is a grueling month,” Wade said. ”We have four back-to-backs. We want to play it smart, find gaps, find days to get through it.”

NOTES—Rajon Rondo didn’t play for the third straight game amid talk that he could be traded. …The Bulls came in leading the league with 13.7 offensive rebounds and grabbed 12….Cleveland fell to 18-3 at home. … James played in his 724th game with Cleveland, passing Danny Ferry (723) for the second most in franchise history. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (771) is the career club leader. … Love received several IVs during his recovery from food poisoning, which the team said came from eating sea bass on New Year’s Eve. Lue said the forward lost 10 pounds and had not gotten his strength back. ”He couldn’t keep food down,” Lue said, adding Cleveland’s training staff felt he needed another day to recuperate. … Even before the flu bug bit Cleveland, the Cavs were already without J.R. Smith (thumb surgery) and Chris Andersen (ACL tear). … Indians free agent prize Edwin Encarnacion received a loud ovation when he was introduced during the first quarter….The Bulls host Toronto on Saturday. The Bulls have has won nine straight over the Raptors.