The Thunder (7-5) were able stave off the Pelicans (1-11) for a 110-103 win Wednesday at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
With commissioner Joel Silver in attendance, and Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant sidelined, Russell Westbrook put on a show with a 43-point performance. Westbrook has scored at least 40 points in his past two games, going 14-for-25 from the field and 15-of-20 from the charity stripe while collecting eight assists and nine rebounds over 36 minutes. The Pelicans hung in the game without their all-star power forward behind Ryan Anderson's season-high 30 points (13-25 FG, 4-10 3Pt), but would ultimately drop their fifth straight game.
After leaving Tuesday's loss due to a shoulder injury, Davis missed Wednesday's game and has struggled to get on the court lately. Without Davis's presence on defense, the Pelicans have allowed at least 100 points in all four games he's missed this season. Anderson stepped up big again with Davis out, but didn't get much help from guards Ish Smith and Eric Gordon, who combined to shoot 14-for-40 from the field. New Orleans remains winless on the road this season, but will travel home to play a tough Spurs squad with Davis's status up in the air.
Durant, who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury, missed his fourth game in a row Wednesday. He's surely been missed out on the court, as the Thunder are 2-2 without Durant, losing back-to-back games to the Celtics and Grizzlies before tonight's win. Other than Westbrook, Oklahoma City's biggest contributor was Enes Kanter off the bench. Kanter had his way down low against the Pelicans, scoring 24 points (8-15 FG, 8-12 FT) while pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds over 31 minutes. It's only a matter of time before coach Billy Donovan is forced to insert Kanter into the starting lineup.
