In a battle of two teams playing without their prominent stars, the Oklahoma City Thunder emerged over the New Orleans Pelicans at home Wednesday 110–103, ending a two-game losing skid.
The Thunder were playing without former Most Valuable Player (MVP) Kevin Durant who is nearing his return from a strained hamstring, while the Pelicans were without All-Star big man Anthony Davis who was nursing a shoulder injury.
Despite not having Durant, Oklahoma City managed to capture the victory under the leadership of All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook who came close to a triple-double.
Westbrook exploded for 43 points, also tallying nine rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and one block in 36 minutes played.
The game against New Orleans was also the second consecutive game Westbrook reached the 40-point mark.
Helping the explosive 27-year-old was the only other Thunder who scored in double-digits, center Enes Kanter.
Kanter had a double-double performance tallying 24 points and 14 rebounds coming off the bench.
Following the game, Oklahoma City head coach Billy Donovan praised Westbrook's effort saying, according to the Associated Press, "We hung in there. Obviously, Russell had another really efficient game. He did some very, very good things."
Westbrook is definitely one of the early leaders in the MVP race and is showing it with his numbers this season.
The four-time National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star is averaging 28.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 10.4 assists, and 2.2 steals in 35 minutes of action per outing, in 12 games played.
Wednesday's win over the Pelicans improved Oklahoma City's record to 7–5, which is good enough for the team to be on the fifth spot in the Western Conference standings.
The Thunder will continue the home stand at the Chesapeake Energy Arena today, Friday, taking on the New York Knicks and will wrap it up on Sunday facing the Dallas Mavericks. The team will then hit the road to face the Utah Jazz on Monday.
