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Russell Westbrook takes it to Mavericks in impressive Thunder win
Russell Westbrook earned his MVP award in Sunday's All-Star Game, although it's unclear exactly what that means. The NBA's premier exhibition is famous for featuring little to no defense, and Westbrook's 41 points on 16-of-28 shooting certainly did not come against the most aggressive rim protection we've ever seen. How impressed should we have been? Doesn't it only matter when the games count?
If the Oklahoma City Thunder star's All-Star stat line required some explanation, then his performance in Thursday's return to action vs. the Dallas Mavericks spoke for itself. Westbrook was stellar in OKC's 104-89 victory, scoring a game-high 34 points (9-of-17 FG, 14-of-14 FT) to go along with 10 assists, five rebounds, and two steals. Check out some of his highlights here:
Serge Ibaka joined Westbrook with his own big game of 21 points and 22 rebounds.
Thursday's comfortable win finished off a busy day for the Thunder, who added young big man Enes Kanter, veteran guard DJ Augustin, and others in trades that sent away center Kendrick Perkins and disgruntled guard Reggie Jackson. Those new players should join the team in upcoming days, but they were not needed to defeat the Mavericks. The victory also brought OKC's record to 29-25, which puts them in a virtual tie with the Phoenix Suns for the West's final playoff spot. (The Thunder would currently win the tiebreaker due to having beaten the Suns in the first two of what will eventually be four matchups this season.)
The only thing that went especially wrong for OKC over the course of the day involved Kevin Durant's previously fractured right foot. The reigning MVP wore at least three different pairs of sneakers during the game and left for good with just over three minutes remaining. He finished with 12 points on 4-of-14 from the field in 37 minutes. General manager Sam Presti seemed to say that Durant will be fine, but it's a situation worth watching as the Thunder move towards the playoffs.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
