National Basketball Association
Oklahoma City 85, LA Clippers 83
When: 10:30 PM ET, Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Officials: #73 Tre Maddox, #71 Rodney Mott, #49 Tom Washington
Attendance: 19060

LOS ANGELES -- Russell Westbrook said he'll treat facing Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors Thursday night just like any other game on the Oklahoma City Thunder's schedule.

"I play every game like it's my last," Westbrook said. "I play every game the same always like I've been saying for years. Regardless of who we play, I'm going to play the same way."

Westbrook played again much like he has the three previous games. He scored 35 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out five assists, leading the Thunder to an 85-83 victory over the Clippers on Wednesday night at Staples Center.

Westbrook was the lone Thunder player to score in double digits. Although he committed 10 of the team's 22 turnovers, Westbrook converted 14 of 30 shots but missed all seven of his 3-point attempts for the Thunder (4-0), the only unbeaten Western Conference team.

The win sets up what is expected to be a carnival-like atmosphere at Oracle Arena.

"We know it's going to be a great, great environment," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "For us, it's about playing basketball, and that's what we're doing right now."

Against the Clippers, the Thunder got clutch buckets by Westbrook and a 3-pointer by Domantas Sabonis late to prevail.

"We did a good job of being smart," said Westbrook, who also had three steals. "I thought we did a good job of making them shoot tough shots, rebounded the basketball and it showed."

Chris Paul finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and six steals for the Clippers (3-1). Blake Griffin added 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Marreese Speights also scored 14.

"It was such a frustrating game, playing so poorly, myself just playing so bad," said Griffin, who made seven of 21 shots from the floor. "This game kind of falls directly on my shoulders. If I played just a little bit better or made one or two more shots, we could have won that game."

Oklahoma City outshot Los Angeles 40.5 percent to 39.1 percent.

"It was awful," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said of the loss. "We were not very good offensively. I thought we really didn't trust our stuff tonight as a group. I thought everyone was trying to attack. It was our first quote-unquote game that had a lot of meaning and we failed that test tonight."

Saboni's 3-pointer and a Westbrook layup with 2:15 remaining in the contest gave Oklahoma City an 81-78 lead it would never surrender. A dunk by Westbrook increased the margin to five.

However, the trey by Clippers guard J.J. Redick cut the deficit to 83-81 with a minute left. Westbrook answered with a 17-foot jumper to push the lead to four with 18 seconds left.

After a bucket by DeAndre Jordan pulled the Clippers within two again with three seconds remaining, Los Angeles ran out of time.

"It was good to see our guys do the things they needed to do to give ourselves a chance to win, and obviously making plays to close the game out was great," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said.

The Thunder used a 13-2 spurt to close the first half and grab a 49-41 edge at the break. Westbrook, who scored 10 of his 16 first-half points in the second quarter, was almost more productive offensively than the Clippers' entire starting lineup. Los Angeles' first five combined for 19 points on 7-of-22 shooting, with no Clipper reaching double figures before intermission.

Paul, who left the game briefly after taking a Nick Collison elbow to the face, missed all four of his first-half shots.

In the third, the Clippers rallied. Brandon Bass finished the quarter by nailing a 35-foot 3-pointer for a 66-65 lead heading into the final period. Griffin had 10 of his points in the third.

The game featured 20 lead changes and 12 ties.

Jerami Grant made his Thunder debut. Grant, obtained from the Philadelphia 76ers in a trade for Ersan Ilyasova and a conditional first-round pick, had six points and three assists in almost 18 minutes.

NOTES: Thunder PG Russell Westbrook dictated much of the pregame conversation. "There's guys in the league that you can say, 'We'll let him get his,' but Russell plays with so much energy he can get 100 (points)," said Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who added he believes Westbrook can average a triple-double this season. ... Westbrook (38.7 points, 12.3 rebounds), Clippers F Blake Griffin (22 points, 11.3 rebounds) and New Orleans F/C Anthony Davis (37 points, 13 rebounds) were the only three NBA players averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds entering the contest. ... The Clippers visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
Top Game Performances
 
Oklahoma City   LA Clippers
Russell Westbrook 35 Scoring Chris Paul 15
Russell Westbrook 5 Assists Chris Paul 9
Enes Kanter 12 Rebounds Chris Paul 11
Russell Westbrook 7 Free Throws Made Chris Paul 5
Russell Westbrook 3 Steals Chris Paul 6
Jerami Grant 2 Blocks DeAndre Jordan 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Oklahoma City 85 40.5 5-20 12-20 14 52 4 8 22
LA Clippers 83 39.1 7-22 8-18 22 41 5 13 19
Upcoming Games
  • LA Clippers will play their next game on the road against Memphis. The Clippers have a W/L % of .750 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Oklahoma City will play their next game on the road against Golden State. The Thunder have a W/L % of 1.000 after a win and .000 after a loss.