Westbrook triple-double leads Thunder past Pelicans

Published Jan. 25, 2017 11:18 p.m. ET

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Russell Westbrook had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, passing Larry Bird with his 60th career triple-double, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans 114-105 on Wednesday night.

Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis left late in the second quarter after re-aggravating a right thigh injury that kept him out of New Orleans' upset of Cleveland on Monday night. The Pelicans trailed by 12 when Davis left and went down by as many as 22 early in the third before rallying to as close as five points.

Steven Adams had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Enes Kanter 17 points and 11 boards for the Thunder, who outscored New Orleans 62-54 inside.

E'Twaun Moore scored 18 for New Orleans, which trailed for all but the first two minutes.

Solomon Hill, Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans each scored 14 for the Pelicans.

After Westbrook's 3 gave the Thunder their largest lead at 67-45, New Orleans used runs of 10-0 late in the third period and 9-0 in the middle of the fourth to get as close as 105-100 on Hill's dunk with 5:34 left.

That's when Victor Oladipo, who had 15 points, stepped up for the Thunder, starting with a 3 that gave Westbrook his 10th assist. Shortly after, Oladipo disrupted a handoff from Donatas Moteijunas to Moore and broke away for a layup that made it 110-102.

New Orleans never recovered, missing eight of its next nine shots.

The Thunder raced to a double-digit lead in the first quarter, dunking four times and hitting three 3-pointers en route to a 33-20 advantage after one. The early highlights included Kanter's dunk over both the 6-foot-11 Davis and 7-footer Omer Asik while being fouled by Asik.

Westbrook scored 17 points in the first half, hitting a pair of 3s and scoring seven points on free throws.

Oklahoma City finished the half with a four-point play when Oladipo hit a 3 while Adams was fouled in the paint by Moteijunas. Adams hit the free throw to make it 64-45 at halftime.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Each team had a rookie selected to the Rising Stars game during All-Star weekend -- Oklahoma City's Domantas Sabonis and New Orleans' Buddy Hield. Both will be playing for the World team. Thunder coach Billy Donavan said the selection of Sabonis -- a Lithuanian who played for Gonzaga -- is a tribute to Thunder scouts, and coaches who've worked to develop his game, and Sabonis himself for having the ability to "affect our team in a positive way." Hield is from the Bahamas and played for Oklahoma in college. "It's well deserved," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. "I don't think anyone works any harder."

TIP-INS

Thunder: Oklahoma City wrapped up its road trip at 3-3. ... Alex Abrines, who hit five 3s and had 18 points in his previous game in New Orleans, scored 11 points, hitting both of his 3-point shots. ... The Thunder improved to 3-0 against New Orleans this season. ... Westbrook is alone in fifth for career triple-doubles. Wilt Chamberlain is fourth with 78. ... Oklahoma City is 18-5 this season when Westbrook reaches double figures in three statistical categories.

Pelicans: They are 2-2 on a six-game homestand that ends Sunday, and 12-13 at home this season. ... Dante Cunningham finished with seven points, ending a string of three straight games in double figures.

UP NEXT

Thunder: Host the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night.

Pelicans: Host the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.