Thunder benefit from Westbrook's 29th triple-double
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook notched his 29th triple-double of the season to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-110 victory over New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Westbrook scored 41 points on 14-of-29 shooting from the field. He also posted 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Enes Kanter came off the bench to score 20 points and grab nine boards. Steven Adams and Alex Abrines each scored 13 points for the Thunder (34-25).
Anthony Davis led the Pelicans (23-37) with 38 points and seven rebounds. DeMarcus Cousins added 31 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out. E'Twaun Moore was the only other player to hit double figures (10).
With the Thunder leading 94-93, Westbrook hit back-to-back 3-pointers before Kanter added two free throws.
That forced Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry to bring Cousins off the bench with five fouls and he promptly was fouled and hit two free throws.
Westbrook came right back down and nailed another 3-pointer. Davis scored four straight points, Moore drilled a corner 3-pointer and the Pelicans were back to within three points with 3:50 left.
A Westbrook jumper pushed the Thunder lead to 107-102. But Cousins responded with four consecutive free throws to cut the lead to one.
Westbrook ended Cousins' night when Jrue Holiday let him drive straight down the middle of the lane for a tomahawk dunk on Cousins, who picked up his sixth foul on the play. The three-point play gave Oklahoma City an 110-106 advantage.
With 1:41 left, the Pelicans had the ball and trailed by four. But Holiday missed a 3-point attempt and that set up two free throws on the other end for Westbrook. He hit two more on Oklahoma City's next possession and that was enough to close out New Orleans.
The night started very spotty for Cousins as he and Adams picked up double technical fouls 32 seconds into the game on what appeared to be light jostling for position. One minute later, Cousins was hit with his second foul and had to sit on the bench the rest of the quarter.
Despite that, Davis was able to have his way with the Thunder defense. Whether it was Adams, Kanter or Taj Gibson, no defender had an answer for him as he posted 24 points in the opening 12 minutes.
No other Pelican scored more than four points in the first quarter, but they still led 35-32.
Despite the presence of Davis and Cousins, the Thunder owned the backboards. They held a 26-15 rebound advantage in the first half as they came back to tie the score at 59 going into halftime.
Both teams racked up fouls in the third quarter. But New Orleans was hurt the most when Cousins was saddled with his fifth personal with 38 seconds left in the quarter. Davis had four as the Pelicans trailed by three going into the fourth quarter.
NOTES: For the second time this season, the Pelicans signed G Reggie Williams to a 10-day contract Saturday. He was called up from the Oklahoma City Blue, which is the D-League affiliate of the Thunder. With the Blue, Williams averaged 18.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 33.3 minutes and was named a D-League All-Star. This is the fifth time in his career that Williams has been called up. ... Thunder G Victor Oladipo missed his second straight game with back spasms. G Alex Abrines started in his place.