Westbrook's 5th straight triple-double powers Thunder
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook collected his fifth consecutive triple-double in leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 101-92 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Westbrook posted 28 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists and 10 turnovers in his 10th triple-double streak of the season. His streak of five in a row is the longest of his career and the longest in the NBA since Michael Jordan posted seven straight in 1989 with the Chicago Bulls.
Thunder center Enes Kanter recorded 17 points and 10 boards. Victor Oladipo added 15 points for Oklahoma City (13-8).
Anthony Davis led the Pelicans (7-14) with 37 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots. Rookie Buddy Hield broke out of a slump with 16 points, all in the second half. Jrue Holiday and E'Twaun Moore each scored 10 points for New Orleans.
After being down by as much as 15, the Pelicans cut the lead to seven with three minutes left. Davis had a chance to get the margin down to five, but he missed back-to-back shots on the same possession.
Westbrook made New Orleans pay with a fastbreak finger roll to push advantage back to 93-85 with 2:39 on the clock.
Oladipo made 1 of 2 from the free-throw line before Hield drained consecutive 3-pointers. The Pelicans were down only 94-90.
Westbrook stopped the run when he hit a pair of free throws, but Davis scored on the other end to put back deficit to four.
Davis came up with a blocked shot on Kanter, giving New Orleans a chance to get within one basket, but Hield missed a layup in traffic.
That led to Westbrook draining a 3-pointer to put the game away.
The Thunder won the rebounding battle 59-51. Each team hit only hit 6 of 28 from 3-point range.
Thunder center Steven Adams had his hands full guarding Davis to start the night. Even though Davis is listed as a power forward, the Thunder put Adams on him instead of rookie Domantas Sabonis, who lacks the size, mobility and experience to guard Davis.
When Adams left the game after coming down wrong on his left ankle, it was Joffrey Lauvergne's turn. It didn't turn out much better, as Davis finished the opening quarter with 13 points and five rebounds, but Oklahoma City led 29-26.
As much of a one-man force as Davis was for New Orleans, Oklahoma City tried the balance attack approach. Instead of Westbrook taking over, the wealth was shared down the lineup as seven players scored in the early going.
With Adams unable to return to the game due to a sprained left ankle, Kanter came off the bench and had a strong first half to make up for the loss.
Davis played almost 23 minutes in the first half, so coach Alvin Gentry gave him a long rest in the third. This allowed the Thunder to pull out to a 12-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
NOTES: New Orleans F Anthony Davis has a slight lead over Miami C Hassan Whiteside in blocked shots per game heading into Sunday. However, Davis' lead is much larger in blocks per personal foul. At 1.28, he is the only player in the NBA over 1.00 per foul. No player from Oklahoma City is ranked in the top 30. ... Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan likes when G Victor Oladipo does more than focus on scoring. "I try to get him to play like a point guard," Donovan said. "And not that I want him to be a facilitator. But just making decisions and making reads. Victor has a good feel for the game and he has good vision. I think sometimes guys say I'm a two-guard so I need to score." ... Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry is amazed with Thunder G Russell Westbrook averaging a triple-double. "I don't know a lot about baseball, but it's probably a lot like hitting .500 for a month," Gentry said. "In my opinion, he's the best athlete in the NBA. It's fun watching him play against everybody else."