Basketball: Westbrook once again carries Thunder to win

Thunder guard Russell Westbrook whips a pass to Steven Adams while Anthony Davis defends. Photo / AP

The Oklahoma City Thunder this afternoon cooked up victory with a familiar formula - a heavy helping of Russell Westbrook and a dash of Steven Adams.

Westbrook had 42 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to carry the Thunder to a much-needed win against the New Orleans Pelicans, while Adams continued his recent purple patch at the offensive end.

Oklahoma City (17-12) had lost three of their last four games to slide down the Western Conference standings but a trip to the struggling New Orleans (10-21) proved the perfect tonic, easing to a 121-110 victory.

Westbrook, like he has done all season, was once again the key contributor for the Thunder.

The point guard is among the early front-runners for the NBA's most valuable player award, still averaging a triple-double of 30.9 points, 10.9 assists and 10.5 rebounds. And while he fell just short of that benchmark today, Westbrook maintained his edge over Anthony Davis in the NBA scoring charts, as the Pelicans power forward finished with 34 points and 15 rebounds.

Davis caused Adams the occasional headache under the hoop, with the Kiwi struggling to contain the former No 1 overall pick. Adams was an ineffective rebounder at the defensive end but did finish with four offensive boards in 23 minutes, also adding three assists and a block.

But it was once again in his scoring where Adams made his biggest impact. The centre surpassed double figures for the 10th time in 12 games, advancing his season average to 11.6 points per game and keeping well clear of his career mark of 6.8.

Adams shot six-of-11 from the floor in New Orleans, helping his side earn a win that saw the Thunder remain seventh in the west but keep pace with the Jazz (18-11) and Grizzlies (19-12).

All those sides sit well behind the front-running Warriors and Spurs, though the presence of Westbrook will leave any opponent wary of a playoff match-up with Oklahoma City.