Mavericks vs. Thunder: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2017 Regular Season

Fresh off getting the All-Star recognition he deserved, Russell Westbrook took flight, scoring a game-high 45 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 109-98 win over a depleted Dallas Mavericks team Thursday night. 

Westbrook scored 30 of his points in the second half, including Oklahoma City's final 13. He also added 13 in a third quarter that saw the Thunder outscore Dallas 34-18 and overcome the Mavericks' two-point halftime lead. 

Westbrook knocked down 16 of his 29 shots and went to the free-throw line 11 times, just two fewer than the entire Mavericks team. 

The NBA on TNT Twitter feed highlighted Westbrook's tenacity:

The Thunder guard was named to his sixth All-Star team earlier Thursday, rectifying arguably the biggest snub of the starter voting process. Westbrook is on pace to become just the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double across an entire season (Oscar Robertson, 1961-62). 

Thursday night marked Westbrook's seventh game with 40-plus points this season and 27th of 30-plus, both of which lead the NBA.

"

Westbrook and Durant running into each other at the All-Star Game... pic.twitter.com/Vgu1HvwNZR

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 27, 2017"

Victor Oladipo added 17 points, and Steven Adams had 15 for Oklahoma City, which shot 51.4 percent as a team. Oladipo has scored in double figures in 13 of 14 games since returning from injury and was Westbrook's co-star in the pivotal third quarter, scoring eight points.

Adam Joseph of 16 Wins a Ring praised Oladipo's recent play:

"

Since his injury, Victor Oladipo has been such a reliable scorer for the Thunder. Really developing consistency & chemistry with the team.

— Adam Joseph (@AdamJosephSport) January 27, 2017"

The Thunder benefited from playing a Dallas team that sat a number of veterans on the second night of a back-to-back. Dirk Nowitzki, Deron Williams and Wesley Matthews all sat out for rest. Andrew Bogut and Harrison Barnes were the only regular Mavericks starters to play; Bogut was limited to just 17 minutes.

Barnes scored a team-high 31 points and at times went shot-for-shot with Westbrook in the fourth. His quiet emergence as a 20-point scorer has been one of the most under-reported aspects of a down season in Dallas. ESPN's Will Cain believes the Mavs made the right decision in choosing Barnes over Chandler Parsons:

Justin Anderson scored 17 points off the bench to mark his third straight game in double figures. He and Dorian Finney-Smith (11 points) were part of a brigade who began the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run, which temporarily cut Oklahoma City's lead to three points with Westbrook on the bench. 

A Domantas Sabonis three stretched it back to six, and Westbrook re-entered the game on a subsequent timeout. Dallas never got closer than four points the remainder of the contest.

Aside from Barnes and Anderson, it was mostly an off night for the Mavericks, even for the regular contributors. Seth Curry, who entered playing the best stretch of basketball of his career, finished with 11 points but shot 4-of-12 from the floor and turned the ball over four times. He had hit 57.1 percent of his shots over his previous five games.

No Mavericks bench player other than Anderson had more than four points.

The Thunder bench did not bring much to the table, either. Cameron Payne had the high among the reserves with six points, and backup center Enes Kanter left the game with a wrist injury after hitting a chair on the bench. He did not return and went back into the tunnel for further examination, per Fred Katz of the Norman Transcript.

As has been the case all season, though, the supporting cast matters little when Westbrook is playing at such a high level. 

The Thunder now have Friday and Saturday off before another nationally televised game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.

The Mavs, who are 6-18 away from Dallas, are scheduled to be in San Antonio on Sunday for a matchup with the Spurs. 

Post-Game Reaction

Thunder coach Billy Donovan said he knew Westbrook was preparing for a big fourth quarter, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com): "I could tell in the timeout that he felt like he was getting ready to kind of explode, to be honest with you."

Westbrook discussed Kanter's injury: "It was tough, man. To do it the way he did it is very unfortunate. He's a strong man, and he'll be back better."

Adams also discussed the circumstances that led to the injury:  "He didn't mean to do it, obviously," Adams said. "It's just one of those frustrating times where it just happened to like -- he did what he did, you know. He's already hard on himself. No one else can be as hard as he is on himself. He's probably just feeling so under the weather. I feel bad for him."

Anderson discussed playing men down: "We put up a good fight. It's tough when we did great the whole night. Westbrook got hot there at the end shooting threes. We were answering him with twos, and that's a tough battle to win."