OKLAHOMA CITY — Russell Westbrook posted 25 points, 20 assists and 11 rebounds to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 120-108 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
It was Westbrook’s 11th triple-double of the season. He is now tied with Golden State’s Draymond Green for the NBA lead. Westbrook is only the third player in the last 30 years to have a triple-double with at least 20 points and 20 assists and 10 rebounds.
Kevin Durant scored 30 and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Thunder. It was his seventh straight double-double, the longest streak of his career. It was also his fourth straight game of at least 30 points and 10 rebounds. Serge Ibaka added 15 points as the Thunder improved to 44-20.
Jeff Green paced the Clippers with 23 points on 10 of 13 shooting. J.J. Redick added 22 points and Chris Paul tallied 12 points and 16 assists as they dropped to 41-22.
After Oklahoma City led by as much as 19 points, the Clippers cut the lead to 111-99. It looked like the Thunder were in for another repeat of last week’s 17-point fourth-quarter meltdown.
However, Durant drained a 3-pointer to slow the momentum. Paul hit a pair of free throws before Oklahoma City’s Andre Roberson connected on a layup.
Los Angeles came up empty on consecutive trips and Thunder center Steven Adams threw down a dunk to put the game out of reach with two minutes left.
The Thunder outrebounded the Clippers 52-29.
Westbrook was in a giving mood early on. The first six Oklahoma City buckets all came off assists from Westbrook. He finished the first quarter with eight assists as the Thunder held a 39-29 advantage.
Just as in the team’s matchup last week, the Clippers offense got off to a slow start. Jordan was the focus of the team’s offense until Donovan started called for the Thunder to start intentionally fouling the career 42 percent free throw shooter.
At that point, Crawford and Green took over the scoring load for Los Angeles. They combined to score 26 points in the first half, but the Clippers still trailed 64-62.
With Dion Waiters missing the game, it gave Anthony Morrow and Cameron Payne a chance to see action. Neither had been part of the Oklahoma City game plan since the All-Star break.
But it was Oklahoma City’s trio of Westbrook, Durant and Ibaka that carried the squad throughout the second half.
NOTES: Oklahoma City G Dion Waiters missed the game against the Clippers after his 21-year old brother, Demetrius Pinckney, was found dead in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. Pinckney’s death is being investigated as a homicide. … Thunder F Kevin Durant said his team has to stick together as it faces another tragedy. “That’s how life throws it at you sometimes,” Durant said. “Definitely unfortunate to go through it, but the only thing we can do is continue to stick together as an organization, as a family and help everyone through this.” … Despite an off-court altercation that broke his hand, Los Angeles F Blake Griffin is still in the running to make the USA Olympic team, according to USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo. “I don’t judge people based on that,” Colangelo said at the U.S. Olympic media summit.