Russell Westbrook Had 32 Points And Thunder Won Their Fourth Victory

Russell Westbrook had 32 points and eight assists, Kevin Durant scored 25 points and the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder won their fourth straight with a 109-95 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.

James Harden added 21 points off the bench for the Thunder, who built a 65-47 lead by halftime and led by as many as 20 points.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and eight rebounds as Portland fell to 3-4 under Kaleb Canales, who took over as interim coach when the Blazers fired Nate McMillan at the NBA trade deadline.

The Blazers were coming off a 90-87 victory over Golden State on Sunday. Portland has not had back-to-back wins since Jan. 23-24 against Sacramento and Memphis.

The Thunder, who went 3-1 against the Blazers, were coming off a 103-87 victory at home over the Miami Heat. Oklahoma City heads to Staples Center to face the Lakers on Thursday before hosting the Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Bulls on Sunday.

Rookie Nolan Smith got the start at point guard for the Blazers in place of Raymond Felton, who left the team to be with his mother while she undergoes a heart procedure.

Smith is the son of the late Derek Smith, who played nine seasons in the NBA and was a close friend with Thunder coach Scott Brooks.

Brooks said before the game that Nolan Smith was the ring bearer at his wedding.

“He was a feisty little guy,” Brooks said of the younger Smith, who went on to play at Duke before he was selected by the Blazers with the 21st overall pick in last June’s draft. Smith finished with three points in 25 minutes.

The Thunder beat the Blazers 111-107 in overtime at the Rose Garden on Feb. 6, a game that was controversial because of a goaltending call on Aldridge in the final six seconds of regulation. The NBA overturned the call the next day.

Oklahoma City went up 28-14 on Derek Fisher’s 3-pointer near the end of the first quarter. Fisher was playing his fourth game since he was picked up as a free agent by the Thunder last week.

The Thunder extended the lead to 57-40 midway through the second quarter on Westbrook’s fast-break layup, and led by as many as 21.

The Blazers narrowed it to 71-63 midway through the third quarter on Aldridge’s turnaround jumper, putting the crowd on its feet for the first time in the game. Wesley Matthews added a 3-pointer, pulling Portland within five points, and Nicolas Batum raised his arms to the crowd on the way back down the court.

Matthews’ 3 capped a 17-2 Blazers run, but Westbrook slowed the momentum a bit with a fast-break layup. Durant’s 3-pointer extended the margin back out to 82-72 and the Thunder cruised the rest of the way.

J.J. Hickson, acquired by the Blazers last week after he was waived by Sacramento, had 21 points off the bench.

Notes: The Thunder’s game Thursday against the Lakers marks Fisher’s first game against his former team since the Lakers traded him to Houston earlier this month. The Rockets bought out his contract and he signed as a free agent with the Thunder last week. ... The Thunder always draw a number of fans wearing Seattle SuperSonics jerseys. One fan behind the Thunder bench had a sign that read “Stolen” with the Sonics’ signature “S.”