Despite resting five of their top players, the San Antonio Spurs jumped out to a surprising lead on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then Russell Westbrook went to work.
Westbrook scored 20 of his 29 points in the middle two quarters and added eight assists on Saturday night, and the hosts raced past the shorthanded Spurs, 111-92, for their seventh straight victory.
Kevin Durant had 31 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who have not lost since a 93-85 setback at San Antonio on March 12.
Oklahoma City (51-22) are the only team to have beaten San Antonio (61-12) twice this season.
"We don't worry about other teams and what they're doing. They did what they were supposed to do," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"In the end, they kicked our butt."
As he often does, Popovich decided to rest his star players.
Given the night off were All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge, Tim Duncan, "French Flash" Tony Parker and Argentine supersub Manu Ginobili.
In addition, All-Star Kawhi Leonard sat out with a bruised quadriceps.
The starting lineup included Serbian rookie Boban Marjanovic and little-used second-year forward Kyle Anderson while Australian Patty Mills (10 points) also got a start.
David West made four jump shots in a 19-3 run that gave the Spurs a 34-25 lead early in the second quarter and had the sellout crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena groaning.
But Oklahoma City broke open the game in the third quarter.
Westbrook found New Zealand's Steven Adams and Congo native Serge Ibaka with nifty passes for powerful dunks, then added his own flying slam for a 74-59 lead with 2:37 remaining.
"I just tried to stay in attack mode," Westbrook said. "They do a good job of packing the paint. I just tried to take what the defence was giving me."
A three-pointer by Durant pushed the margin to 83-61 late in the third period, and San Antonio got no closer than 17 points thereafter. The Spurs were outscored, 59-37, in the middle two quarters.
Elsewhere: Cleveland Cavaliers 107, New York Knicks 93: LeBron James had his second triple-double of the week with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as the visiting Cavaliers kept their 2 1/2-game lead atop the Eastern Conference. Australian Matthew Dellavedova had 10 points for the Cavs.
Toronto Raptors 115, New Orleans Pelicans 91: DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points to lead seven players in double figures for the visiting Raptors (49-23), who tied a franchise record for wins in a season.
Atlanta Hawks 112, Detroit Pistons 95: Paul Millsap scored 23 points to lead eight players in double figures for the Hawks, who have won eight of nine. The Pistons fell to 5-2 on their league season-high nine-game homestand.
Brooklyn, Orlando, Charlotte, Utah, Boston and Portland were also winners.
