Westbrook's triple-double carries Thunder past Pistons
OKLAHOMA -- Russell Westbrook posted his seventh triple-double of the season in leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 106-88 victory over the Detroit Pistons Saturday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Westbrook posted 17 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds to earn consecutive triple-doubles on back-to-back nights. It was also his 44th career triple-double, which ties him with Cleveland's LeBron James. However, it took Westbrook 395 fewer games.
The Thunder had five players score in double figures. Anthony Morrow came off the Thunder bench to lead the charge. He poured in a season-high 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting. Steven Adams added 16 points and nine rebounds. Victor Oladipo scored 18 on only 10 shots as Oklahoma City improved to 10-8.
Tobias Harris led the Pistons with 21 points on 8 of 18 shooting. Ish Smith, who once played for the Thunder, posted 14 points and three assists.
As a team, the Pistons collected only 11 assists, which was less than Westbrook by himself.
It was the combination of Westbrook and Morrow who helped the Thunder get off to a fast start against the Pistons. While Westbrook attacked the basket and pulled down rebounds, Morrow finally started to find his shot. After shooting 40 percent on the season, Morrow came off the bench and hit 3 of his first 5 shots.
But it was an entire team effort that allowed Oklahoma City to build its lead up to 18 points in the first half. Eight of the 10 players who touched the court scored.
However, the Pistons whittled away at the lead late in the second quarter. Morris, Harris and Aron Baynes led a charge to cut the deficit to 10 by halftime.
Oklahoma City didn't help itself by barely shooting over 50 percent from the free throw line. This allowed the Pistons to get within four points in the third quarter.
But a late surge by Morrow pushed the Thunder advantage back to 77-68 heading into the fourth.
The Thunder didn't allow the game to get any closer. The players took turns scoring at will against the Detroit defense.
At one point, Westbrook shook Caldwell-Pope on his way to a layup, and laughed as he ran back up court.
Oklahoma City outscored Detroit 29-20 in the fourth quarter to close out the game.
NOTES: During Oklahoma City's victory over Denver Friday, Thunder center Enes Kanter used the "pull the chair" maneuver on an unsuspecting Jusef Nurkic. Kanter said he learned the trick when he was a 20-year old rookie playing against Kurt Thomas. "Now, when I see a physical guy out there trying to be really physical or strong, try to bang it inside or whatever, I do that to make them lose their balance," Kanter told The Oklahoman. "It's a pretty cool thing." ... Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy likes some of the toughness F John Leuer brings to the team. "I wasn't surprised. We knew what we were getting," Van Gundy said. "He's doing the things he's always done. He's just getting more minutes." ... Oklahoma City G Anthony Morrow saw his playing time increase over rookie Alex Abrines in recent games. "Alex is going to be an important ingredient," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "I'm just a big believer of keeping our roster engaged and doing things where we can utilize all of our players. But obviously when somebody is playing more minutes that somebody else, somebody is going to have to suffer."