Thunder stars Paul George and Carmelo Anthony could not find their shooting rhythm, so Russell Westbrook went into attack mode and overwhelmed the Wizards.
Westbrook on Thursday scored a season-high 46 points as Oklahoma City beat Washington 121-112 for their sixth straight victory.
“I just read the game honestly and if it’s time for me to take over, then that’s what I do,” Westbrook said.
Photo: AP
George scored 18 points on nine-of-19 shooting and Anthony added 13 on four-of-11 shooting.
Westbrook filled in the gap by making 19 of 29 field goals in one of his most efficient shooting performances of the season.
“We need him to be that way,” Oklahoma City reserve point guard Raymond Felton said. “Some nights he can score 46, some nights he can score 20. Whatever it is, we still need him to be aggressive the way he was tonight.”
Steven Adams added 12 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City, who have won 20 of 28 after an 8-12 start.
Anthony is still getting used to his team winning when he has off nights.
“I’ve got to remind myself that I am on the team with somebody else, and they do some of the things that you are capable of doing, that you have been doing your whole career, but for me to be on the same side as that — I don’t have to go after it every night,” Anthony said. “I just take what the other team is giving us. It’s a beauty to watch when it’s working and when it’s clicking, especially now when we are winning games.”
Bradley Beal scored 41 points, John Wall had 21 and Markieff Morris added 20 for the Wizards, who committed 23 turnovers.
The Thunder took a 54-40 lead into halftime, but Washington tied the score at 68-68 before the Thunder rallied.
Felton hit back-to-back three-pointers to put the Thunder up 10 and Oklahoma City led 82-74 at the end of the period.
A powerful right-handed jam by Westbrook gave the Thunder a 92-85 lead in the fourth and a steal by George led to a dunk by Westbrook that put Oklahoma City up 99-89 with just under seven minutes to play.
Westbrook punctuated his performance with a two-handed breakaway jam with about a minute remaining.
“We came back,” Beal said. “I don’t think the deficit was too bad. It was just those offensive rebounds and those turnovers down the stretch. We clawed back into the game, we were moving the ball in transition efficiently, getting rebounds, and all of a sudden, that kind of died down and stopped. When that happens, the game totally flipped in their favor and the momentum changed.”
In Oakland, California, Kevin Durant showed why he was LeBron James’ first pick for the NBA All-Star game as the Golden State Warriors romped past the Minnesota Timberwolves for a comfortable victory.
Durant, who was snapped up by James for next month’s All-Star extravaganza, bagged a 28-point triple-double as the Warriors cruised to a 126-113 win.
“We play good defense, we can rebound, we can push we’ve got shooters everywhere. I was just trying to make the right decisions,” Durant said, acknowledging the all-round potency of the Warriors offense. “That’s just how we play. Everybody gets involved, everybody touches the ball.”
Additional reporting by AFP
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