Westbrook pours in 46 as Thunder top Wizards
Russell Westbrook scored a season-high 46 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder extended their winning streak to six games with a 121-112 victory over the visiting Washington Wizards on Thursday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Paul George finished with 18 points, while Carmelo Anthony added 13 for the Thunder, who shot 45 of 87 (51.7 percent) from the field. Oklahoma City has gone 15-0 since Dec. 1 when all five of its normal starters -- Westbrook, George, Anthony, Andre Roberson and Steven Adams -- are in the lineup.
Adams contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Bradley Beal had 41 points and 12 rebounds, while John Wall added 21 points and 12 assists for Washington, which has lost six of its past nine games. Markieff Morris finished with 20 points and nine rebounds for the Wizards.
The Thunder led by 14 points at the half, but the Wizards cut the margin to 56-46 on a 3-pointer by Beal in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Washington made seven consecutive field goals, and a jumper by Wall pulled the Wizards within 63-59 with just under seven minutes left.
Oklahoma City regained control, and back-to-back 3-pointers by Raymond Felton helped the Thunder carry an 82-74 lead into to the final quarter. The Wizards would not go away, and a 3-pointer by Wall cut the margin to 88-85 with 8:23 left in the game.
A jumper and demonstrative dunk by Westbrook gave Oklahoma City a 90-87 lead with just under eight minutes left. Westbrook continued to dominate, and his dunk off a steal by George gave the Thunder a 10-point lead and forced Washington to call a timeout with 6:41 left.
From there, the Thunder were never threatened. A dunk by Anthony extended Oklahoma City's lead to 116-106 with just over a minute remaining.
The Wizards have allowed 98 or more points in 19 consecutive games. Washington also committed 23 turnovers, which led to 15 points for Oklahoma City.
The Thunder never trailed before the break, and Westbrook scored 15 points to help provide a 54-40 lead at halftime. The Wizards hit just 3 of 13 from beyond the arc in the opening half.
--Field Level Media
