Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) shoots against San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili (20), of Argentina, as Spurs’ Cory Joseph and Thunder’s Steven Adams, left, look on, in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014, in San Antonio. Oklahoma City won 114-106. AP
SAN ANTONIO, United States — Russell Westbrook didn’t mind picking up the slack for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who were missing reigning NBA MVP Kevin Durant for the fifth-straight contest on Thursday.
Westbrook tallied 35 points and 11 assists as the Thunder beat the defending league champion San Antonio Spurs 114-106 in front of a Christmas Day crowd of 18,500 at the AT&T Center arena.
“Regardless of what’s going on, like I said before and I’m going to keep saying it, my job is to attack,” Westbrook said.
Last Thursday, Durant sprained his right ankle late in the first half of a loss to Golden State.
Westbrook also had five rebounds and five steals for the Thunder, who lost to the Spurs 4-2 in the playoff semi-finals last season.
On Thursday, he scored 20 points in the second half, helping Oklahoma City hold off a pair of Spurs rallies. Serge Ibaka added 21 points and Steven Adams engineered 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
The Thunder were plus-27 with Westbrook and Adams on the floor.
“We did a great job of being physical, using our length and our athleticism,” Westbrook said.
Tony Parker’s drive and dish to Tim Duncan for a dunk at 6:48 of the fourth quarter gave the Spurs a 93-89 lead. The remainder of the game belonged to Westbrook.