Westbrook's 100th triple-double leads Thunder past Hawks
Russell Westbrook scored 32 points, recorded a milestone triple-double and led the Oklahoma City Thunder to their fourth consecutive win, 119-107 over the host Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday at Philips Arena.
Westbrook had 12 rebounds and 12 assists to complete his 100th career triple-double. Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and Jason Kidd are the only other players to have 100 triple-doubles in their careers.
Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and sparked a second-half comeback for the Thunder. Jerami Grant finished with 20 points off the bench and made big plays down the stretch.
Taurean Prince had 25 points and Dennis Schroder added 18 points for the Hawks, who have lost four in a row.
Oklahoma City quickly erased a 12-point halftime deficit in the third quarter and led 82-74 after a Westbrook dunk. Atlanta chipped into the deficit and went into the fourth quarter down only 90-88.
Patrick Patterson hit a 3-pointer and Grant followed with a basket to give Oklahoma City a 103-95 lead with seven minutes to play. The Hawks answered with an 8-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Prince, but Oklahoma City pulled away from that point.
Oklahoma City sits in fourth place in the Western Conference standings, 1 1/2 games behind the Portland Trail Blazers, but six teams closely follow the Thunder.
The Hawks have been playing for the future for months and are already mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but they hung tough against the Thunder.
Prince and Schroder each scored 14 points in the first half and fueled a big second quarter that saw the Hawks build a 66-54 halftime lead.
Anthony led Oklahoma City back in the third quarter. He hit four 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the quarter as the Thunder opened the half with a 21-5 spurt.
Oklahoma City returns home to host the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday before heading right back on the road for a two-game trip featuring Eastern Conference powers Toronto and Boston.
The Hawks host Charlotte on Thursday.
--Field Level Media
