Westbrook gets triple-double as OKC tops Kings
OKLAHOMA CITY — Russell Westbrook got the help he needed from co-stars Paul George and Carmelo Anthony.
George and Anthony each scored 21 points and Westbrook notched his 20th triple-double of the season to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Sacramento Kings 106-101 on Monday night.
George and Anthony broke out of shooting slumps. George was 4 of 9 on 3-pointers and Anthony hit 5 of 7 to make the Kings pay for packing the paint.
“I’ve been through it, through tough shooting nights,” George said. “Melo has been through tough shooting nights. That’s the least of my concerns and the least of his concerns, I’m sure of it. That’s all going to come. My job is just to continue to keep going. Continue to stay in attack mode. I’ll get in a rhythm here eventually where I’ll feel good on a nightly basis but I will continue to be aggressive out there.”
Westbrook had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in the 99th triple-double of his career for the Thunder, who moved into fourth place in the Western Conference standings. Oklahoma City is now a season-high 11 games above .500.
Thunder center Steven Adams left the game in the third quarter with a left hip contusion and did not return. Just two days earlier against San Antonio, he hurt his left ankle in the third quarter and did not return.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and Garrett Temple and Justin Jackson each added 15 for the Kings.
ROCKETS 109, SPURS 93: In Houston, James Harden scored 16 of his 28 points in the third quarter to allow Houston to build a huge lead and sail to an easy victory over San Antonio.
The NBA’s leading scorer took a little while to get going a night after sitting out against Dallas with a sore left knee and had just 12 points at halftime.
Despite his slow start, the Rockets had a comfortable lead in the third and were still up by 13 after a basket by San Antonio’s Dejounte Murray with about eight minutes left in the quarter. It was then that Harden took over, scoring the next eight points to start a 16-4 run that extended the lead to 82-57 with about 3½ minutes left in the third and had coach Gregg Popovich calling for a timeout.
Harden had a 3-pointer and made three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt to propel that spurt. He didn’t return in the fourth quarter with the game in hand. BUCKS 121, GRIZZLIES 103: In Memphis, Tenn., Khris Middleton scored 24 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo added 20 and Milwaukee sent Memphis to its 18th consecutive loss.
Brandon Jennings, signed to a 10-day contract by Milwaukee on Sunday, finished two rebounds short of a triple-double with 16 points and 12 assists. TRAIL BLAZERS 115, HEAT 99: In Portland, Ore., Damian Lillard scored 32 points and Jusuf Nurkic added 27 and 16 rebounds as Portland beat Miami.
Goran Dragic scored 23 points to lead the Heat.