Westbrook's triple-double carries Thunder past Nuggets
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook tallied his 17th triple-double of the season to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 121-106 victory over the Denver Nuggets Saturday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Westbrook racked up 32 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists. That included going 7 of 12 from 3-point range.
Thunder center Steven Adams added 16 points and four blocked shots. Victor Oladipo scored 15 points on 7 of 19 shooting to help Oklahoma City improve to 22-16.
Wilson Chandler came off the bench to pace the Nuggets with 24 points. However, he scored only five in the second half. Will Barton scored 21 on 6 of 11 shooting as Denver dropped to 14-23.
It was the fifth straight game Denver has allowed an opponent to score 120 or more points. All have been losses.
Barton drained a 3-pointer with 5:43 left in the fourth quarter to cut the Thunder lead down to 102-94. But Westbrook came back and answered with a pull up 3-pointer of his own. He then came up with a steal that led to a 3-point play by Jerami Grant.
The Nuggets turned the ball over on the ensuing possession and Westbrook made them pay with another 3-pointer. After Jusef Nurkic scored, Westbrook drained an even deeper 3-pointer to put Oklahoma City up 114-98 and put the contest away.
The win ends a three-game losing streak for Oklahoma City.
With Cameron Payne in uniform, it was the first time this season the Thunder had been at full strength. But it was rookie Domantas Sabonis who got the team off to a quick start. He scored nine points in the first quarter as Oklahoma City held a slight 24-22 advantage.
With the Nuggets playing with one less big man, the Thunder tried to exploit the paint around the goal. Everyone from Kanter to Adams to Sabonis took turns attacking the rim.
However, Oklahoma City had no answer for Chandler. The Denver forward terrorized the Thunder defenders with his ability to shoot perimeter shots and also drive to the hoop.
Chandler kept the Nuggets close until the rest of the squad got its offense going.
Neither team played any remnant of good defense in the first. The game was tied at 60-60 at halftime and both shot 48 percent from the field.
In the second half, the Thunder suddenly realized they had a mismatch when Adams was on the floor. They went to him exclusively late in the third quarter and rode him to an eight-point lead heading into the fourth.
NOTES: G Cameron Payne was in the Oklahoma City lineup for the first time this season after returning from preseason foot surgery. Payne played two games with the Oklahoma City Blue in the Developmental League before being called up Saturday morning, "He has worked really hard to get back to this point," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "Obviously he is fully cleared to play. He's got a couple of D-League games under his belt. I think it's good for him to get out there and compete and play. He's jumped through a lot of hoops to get himself to this point." ... Denver C Nikola Jokic missed the game against Oklahoma City due to illness. Jusuf Nurkic started in his place. ... Denver coach Mike Malone said he needs to finds ways to get Will Barton going offensively. "We need that guy that comes into the game, has that energy, has that flair," Malone said. 'We've got to get the thrill back. Right now we have Will Barton. We need the thrill."