Westbrook Grabs Another Triple Double As Thunder Tames Wolves

Russell Westbrook collected his sixth triple-double in eight games and scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder pull away for a 113-99 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. Westbrook checked out with 2:13 remaining, seemingly a rebound short of the feat, but a scoring change gave him his 10th rebound to go with 12 assists.

He has eight triple-doubles this season and 16 in his career.

Enes Kanter had 23 points and 15 rebounds, while Dion Waiters and Mitch McGary added 12 points apiece for the Thunder.

Gorgui Dieng had 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Justin Hamilton had 17 points and 10 boards for the Timberwolves, who have lost seven of eight.

Minnesota point guard Ricky Rubio left the game with an ankle injury in the third quarter and did not return.

The Timberwolves hung tough until the middle of the fourth quarter, when Westbrook's pullup 3-pointer gave the Thunder a 95-82 lead. Westbrook drained a long 3-pointer and was fouled, then made the free throw to give the Thunder a 106-90 advantage with 3:31 remaining.

Westbrook was relatively quiet in the first half until his 32-footer as time expired in the first half gave the Thunder a 55-49 edge. Kanter had 13 points and 11 rebounds in the first half, while Dieng had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves.

Westbrook got his 10th assist in the third quarter, and Kanter continued his strong play to help the Thunder take a 79-72 lead into the fourth.

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TIP-INS

Timberwolves: C Nikola Pekovic sat out with a sore right ankle. ... F Kevin Garnett missed the game with a sore knee. ... The Timberwolves had one assist as a team in the first quarter.

Thunder: F Serge Ibaka sat out with a sore right knee. ... McGary, a rookie, got his first career start. ... Waiters started in place of Kyle Singler, who had started all 10 games since he had been acquired at the trade deadline.

UP NEXT

Timberwolves: At San Antonio on Sunday.

Thunder: Host Chicago on Sunday.