Westbrook, Thunder cruise past Bulls 109-94
CHICAGO (AP) — Russell Westbrook had 21 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder pull away from the Chicago Bulls for an easy 109-94 victory Monday night.
Steven Adams scored 22 points and Enes Kanter had 20 points and 11 rebounds, leading a dominant performance inside for Oklahoma City. Victor Oladipo added 13 points.
Dwyane Wade led Chicago with 22 points, and Michael Carter-Williams had 15. Cristiano Felicio finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Bulls had won three in a row and five of seven, but they were no match for the Thunder with Jimmy Butler hampered by an illness. The reigning Eastern Conference player of week had one point on 0-for-6 shooting and seven assists in 29 minutes before exiting in the third quarter.
Taj Gibson's three-point play off a slick pass from Wade got Chicago within 10 with 6:51 left in the third, but Westbrook helped the Thunder put it away from there.
The dynamic point guard threw an alley-oop to Adams and then found the center for a layup. Westbrook set up Andre Roberson for a 3-pointer and a cutting dunk. Kanter added a driving layup with 54 seconds left, helping Oklahoma City to an 89-67 lead after three.
Led by Adams and Kanter, the Thunder outscored the Bulls 60-36 in the paint. Adams was 11 for 14 from the field, and Kanter was 9 for 11.
GRANT VS GRANT
Brothers Jerami and Jerian Grant faced off. Jerian Grant had 11 points in 21 minutes for the Bulls. Jerami Grant played 16 minutes for the Thunder and finished with seven points.
TIP-INS
Thunder: G Cameron Payne played 14 minutes in his second game of the season after being sidelined by a right foot injury.
Bulls: G Rajon Rondo did not play on his bobblehead night. The veteran guard hasn't played since Dec. 30 against Indiana, and it's unclear when or if he will return to coach Fred Hoiberg's rotation. ... Rookie G Denzel Valentine missed his third straight game with an ankle injury. ... Wade, who turns 35 on Jan. 17, likely will rest when the Bulls visit the Wizards on Tuesday night. The Bulls have four sets of back-to-back games in January. "We have an initial plan laid out," Hoiberg said. "It could change."
UP NEXT
Thunder: Host Memphis on Wednesday night. The Thunder lost 114-80 to the Grizzlies on Dec. 29.
Bulls: Visit Washington on Tuesday night, beginning a stretch with three of four on the road. The Bulls and Wizards split the first two games of their season series.
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Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap