Russell Westbrook, in his first game back since breaking his hand, scored 32 points in just 24 minutes as the Oklahoma City Thunder hammered the New York Knicks 105-78 on Friday.
The all-star point guard shot 12-of-17 from the field and delivered eight assists and seven rebounds in his first National Basketball Association game since he fractured his right hand on Oct. 30.
He provided a much-needed spark at Chesapeake Energy Arena in the wire-to-wire victory for the Thunder, who won back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Photo: USA Today
Serge Ibaka tallied 14 points, Jeremy Lamb came off the bench to score 13 and Steven Adams grabbed 13 rebounds in the win.
Westbrook wasted little time making an impact in front of the crowd of 18,203, scoring a dozen points over the game’s first eight minutes as the Thunder jumped out to a 23-6 lead.
He finished the opening quarter with 14 points and four assists while hitting six of seven shots.
The Knicks, who were missing star Carmelo Anthony, struggled mightily on offense.
Anthony had to sit out for a second game in a row due to back spasms.
New York shot a meager 38 percent and missed 17 of 19 attempts from three-point range to fall for the 12th time in 14 games.
Amar’e Stoudemire was New York’s lone bright spot, delivering 20 points on seven-of-eight shooting and grabbing nine rebounds.
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