OKLAHOMA City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook goes up for a shot in front of New Orleans Pelicans guard Frank Jackson during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City. AP
OKLAHOMA CITY — Thunder coach Billy Donovan heard questions all season about Russell Westbrook’s shaky shooting.
He hasn’t been concerned because Westbrook does everything else so well.
The 2017 Most Valuable Player posted his NBA-leading 15th triple-double and Oklahoma City beat the injury-depleted New Orleans Pelicans, 122-116, on Thursday night.
“He impacts the game in so many different ways,” Donovan said.
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“He can do it through rebounding, he can do it through defense, he can do it through assists, he can do it through getting out in transition. He does a lot of different things to impact the game, so when people talked to me earlier on about his shooting — I’m really not worried about it.”
In this game, Westbrook’s shot wasn’t so bad, either. He finished with 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting and had 17 rebounds and 16 assists.
The Thunder improved to 10-5 this season when he tallies a triple-double.
“He’s a once-in-a-generation kind of guy,” Thunder forward Abdel Nader said.
“He’s special. On both ends, he plays with the energy level I think some guys wish they could play with.”
Paul George had 23 points and 11 rebounds and Steven Adams added 20 points and 13 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which won its fourth straight.
The Pelicans were without star center Anthony Davis, who missed his third straight game with a left index finger sprain, and the team announced Thursday that Nikola Mirotic will be out at least a week with a right calf strain. New Orleans forward Julius Randle sat out with a right ankle sprain and guard E’Twaun Moore rested because of nagging injuries.
Jrue Holiday had 22 points and 13 assists, and Darius Miller matched a career high with 21 points for New Orleans.
“I thought we competed as hard as we possibly could and played very unselfishly,” coach Alvin Gentry said. “We just didn’t have enough firepower to get over the hump.”
The revamped lineup presented a challenge for Oklahoma City.
“You’ve got to learn guys’ tendencies on the go, figure out the guys that they are throwing in there, learn the personnel on the fly,” George said.
Oklahoma City led 65-53 at halftime behind 18 points from Adams. Westbrook secured his triple-double early in the third quarter, and the Thunder rolled to a 98-82 lead at the end of the period.
The Pelicans rallied, but never got closer than five in the final quarter.
“They just put different and weird lineups out there and they had a little momentum going,” George said.
