Russell Westbrook pushed the pace all night recording his second consecutive triple-double on Sunday to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 113-96 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Westbrook posted 33 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds en route to his 39th career triple-double. Through three games, he is averaging 38.6 points, 12.3 rebounds and 11.6 assists.
“That’s what we do,” Westbrook said.
“We have to go. That’s our advantage, we’re athletic. We’re young and we want to run up and down the floor. That’s what we should do.”
Victor Oladipo added 20 points, while Steven Adams scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Thunder (3-0) at the Chesapeake Arena in Oklahoma City.
Westbrook was coming off a sparkling 51 point, 13 rebound, 10 assist performance against the Phoenix Suns. He narrowly missed a triple-double in the season opener against Philadelphia when he collected nine assists.
He is the first player with 100 points, 30 rebounds and 30 assists in the first three games of the season.
Westbrook has carried the Thunder this season by jackhammering the opponent’s defense into pieces. Sunday night was the hapless Lakers’ turn.
The Lakers, who finished with the worst record (17-65) in the Western Conference last season, are now 1-2 on the season.
“He had a masterful game tonight,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said of Westbrook.
“He was getting everyone involved, shooting when the shots were there and playmaking for teammates.
“He showed today why he is one of the top point guards in the world.”
D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle paced the Lakers with 20 points apiece. Randle also grabbed nine rebounds. Nick Young scored 16 for Los Angeles.
– Durant dominates pesky Suns –
In Phoenix, Kevin Durant scored 37 points and Stephen Curry added 28 as the Golden State Warriors held off the Suns 106-100.
Klay Thompson had 14 points and Draymond Green had 13 rebounds for the Warriors, who trailed by as many as 13 in the first half before limiting the Suns to 43 second-half points.
Golden State stretched their lead to seven points at 101-94 after a Durant alley-oop layup from Andre Iguodala with 1:19 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Suns charged back to within two points on a Jared Dudley layup with 14.8 seconds to play.
Curry hit two free throws with 13 seconds left, and the Warriors denied the Suns any more baskets before the final buzzer. Durant sealed the win on two free throws with seven seconds to go.
T.J. Warren had 26 points and Eric Bledsoe added 21 for the Suns, who have opened the season with three straight losses.
In Los Angeles, Austin Rivers came off the bench to score 19 points, and Blake Griffin tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers won a low-scoring contest over the Utah Jazz 88-75.
Jamal Crawford chipped in 12 points, while DeAndre Jordan contributed 10 points and 16 rebounds for the Clippers in their home opener.
George Hill paced the Jazz with 18 points and was the only Utah player to reach double figures. Joe Johnson scored seven points in the opening quarter, but failed to find the target again. – Agence France-Presse
