Westbrook’s triple-double leads Thunder past Wizards, 114-98

Wizards coach Randy Wittman missed the game following his brother’s death last Friday.

Kevin Durant led the way for the Thunder in the scoring column, pouring in 28 points on 9-of-18 shooting. The match-up between Wall and star Thunder PG Russell Westbrook is sure to be the best of the night, as both are great passing, athletic slasher-type guards capable of putting up big numbers. “That’s something I try to do every night”.

Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat (13) shoots as Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) defends during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Monday, Feb. 1, 2016.

The Wizards cut Oklahoma City’s lead to six early in the third quarter, but the Thunder maintained control. A couple poster dunks and three-point plays saw Oklahoma City back up by a comfortable 15 point margin following a 15-6 run. Westbrook stayed red-hot with his sixth triple-double of the season (26 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds) in a 116-108 win over Houston on Friday.

The Wizards let Houston make 17 for 35 (48.6 percent) from 3-point range but held a 45-37 rebounding advantage in ending a three-game skid with Saturday’s 123-122 road win.

“Westbrook, Durant, they said, ‘We’re not going to be shown up, ‘” Washington assistant coach Don Newman said.

“They know how to get it back, and they didn’t want to lose”, Newman said.

Durant’s league-best 34.7 points on the week helped the Thunder to a 3-0 record.

Westbrook has at least 10 assists in eight of his past 10 games. Combined with Ibaka, the trio scored 28 of the team’s 36 first quarter points as they led by 10. They were able to keep up with the Thunder, which posted the most points the Wizards have allowed this season in the teams’ first meeting in Washington, for a few minutes but were eventually overwhelmed. With four 3-pointers in the quarter, more than they had the rest of the game, the Wizards kept things close in the Vegas world where they were +9.5 but were unable to even cover that generous spread. Durant was named the Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday….

G Cameron Payne was back in the lineup on Monday after missing one game with concussion symptoms. “He scored the ball and made some shots”. It was the 30th time the Wizards have surrendered at least 100 points this season.

The Thunder, with a firm grip on third spot in the Western Conference, host the Orlando Magic next up on Thursday (NZT).