Russell Westbrook had 41 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists as the Thunder defeated the Pelicans 118-110 in Oklahoma City.
Westbrook scored 21 fourth-quarter points. He has 29 triple-doubles this season. The Thunder have won three straight.
Anthony Davis scored 38 for the Pelicans and established a New Orleans team record by scoring 24 points in the first quarter.
DeMarcus Cousins contributed 31 points and 10 boards in 21 minutes before fouling out. New Orleans has dropped three straight since acquiring Cousins in a trade with Sacramento. "Boogie" also got his 18th technical of the season and will be suspended for a game if it does not get rescinded.
“I didn’t feel like I did anything wrong to receive it," Cousins said. "Hopefully the league handles it the right way and I get the benefit of the doubt. We’ll see.”
"I thought we played well," Coach Alvin Gentry said. "I thought we did a good job. I thought we started the game the right way. At the end of the day, Russell made all the plays down the stretch. So, you have to give him credit."
"We put ourselves in the positions to win and when you do that, you have to make plays down the stretch.," Gentry added. "We didn't and they did. We had a lot of opportunities, but we just couldn't put the ball in the basket."