LDN - Sports

Westbrook (who else?) leads Thunder past Timberwolves

[December 26, 2016] OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook had 32 points and 15 assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 112-100 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Westbrook made 11 of 25 shots from the field and grabbed seven rebounds as the Thunder improved to 19-12 this season and 5-2 on Christmas Day.

Center Steven Adams added 22 points and Enes Kanter came off the bench to drop 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor.

Karl Anthony Towns paced the Timberwovles with 26 points and eight rebounds. Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points and Zach LaVine added 16 as Minnesota dropped to 9-21.

The Timberwolves' young superstars set the tone early in the game. Wiggins and Towns combined for 16 first-quarter points and showed no signs of being intimidated by playing on Christmas for the first time, leading Minnesota to a 27-23 advantage.

The big men spurred the comeback for the Thunder. Kanter came off the bench and posted 10 quick points. Joffrey Lauvergne and Adams also came alive in the second quarter to help keep the Thunder close before Westbrook erupted late in the half to push the Thunder ahead 57-53 at halftime.

Adams and Westbrook continued their two-man game game in the third quarter, with Adams rolling to the basket and bullying through Towns and Gorgui Deng for dunks.

The fight and tenacity the Timberwolves played with in the first half was absent in the second half and the Thunder stayed on the attack.

LaVine came to life in the second half and kept Minnesota within striking distance going into the fourth quarter. However, the Timberwolves were unable to get LaVine, Wiggins and Towns going at the same time.

The Thunder pulled away in the fourth quarter and never looked back.

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Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) drives to the basket agains Minnesota Timberwolves forward Gorgui Dieng (5) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Westbrook got the Oklahoma City fast break rolling and it led to dunks by Jerami Grant and easy layups from the rest of the team.

Coach Tom Thibodeau pulled his starters with just under four minutes left in the game.

NOTES: Oklahoma City G Victor Oladipo sat out. It was the seventh straight game he missed with a sprained wrist. "Just talking to the training staff, he is improving," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "But he's limited with what he can do. I don't think anybody on our end is surprised at the length of time he has been out. This is one of those injuries that has a wide range of time that it could take to recover and get back to playing." ... Entering Sunday, Minnesota C Karl-Anthony Towns was second on the team with 114 attempted 3-pointers. Coach Tom Thibodeau was asked when he should shoot 3-pointers. "I think there has to be a balance to it," Thibodeau said. "His versatility, he can put it on the floor and drive by people or play back to the basket. So I want him to play to his strength." ... Both Donovan and Thibodeau said it was an honor for their teams to play on Christmas. "It's a special opportunity to be able to play on Christmas," Donovan said. "I also think there is a lot of sacrifice that goes into for a lot of families and things like that."

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