Russell Westbrook was about as good as you could ask him to be Thursday, but the Thunder still fell to the Pelicans 131-122 and New Orleans didn't even have star Anthony Davis in the second half.
Westbrook scored a season-high 44 points on 18-of-30 shooting while adding 14 rebounds and 11 assists in his NBA-record 11th straight triple-double. He's now averaging 21.2 points, 11.2 assists and 11.1 rebounds this season.
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The Thunder, though, trailed by three points at the half and didn't come out of the locker room very well as New Orleans opened up a 12-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
Westbrook scored 11 points in the fourth quarter as the Thunder outscored the Pelicans in the frame, but the deficit after the third was simply too much to overcome.
That baseline flush. @russwest44 pic.twitter.com/kM1yCBHAOY
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 15, 2019
The Thunder will go into the All-Star break with a 37-20 record and a three-game lead over the Trail Blazers for the No. 3 seed in the West. The Pelicans are now 26-33 and will have to wait to hear about the condition of Davis, who left the game after halftime with a shoulder injury.
Studs of the Night
Magic guard Terrence Ross scored a game-high 21 points off the bench in Orlando's 127-89 shellacking of the Hornets.
Knicks guard Dennis Smith Jr. scored 19 points and added seven assists as New York broke its 17-game losing streak with a 106-91 win over the Hawks.
Dud of the night
Kemba Walker scored 10 points on 4-of-20 shooting in the loss to the Magic.
Highlight
Jrue Holiday scored 32 points while adding seven assists, five rebounds, three blocks and two steals. He impressed with this nice finish at the rim.
Flex on 'em, Jrue! ?#DoItBig pic.twitter.com/2Eqw7eDCCD
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 15, 2019
What's Next
Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis, 8 p.m. ET Sunday — The NBA All-Star Game will feature teams led by LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo on Sunday. The next regular-season games will be played Thursday.
