OKC looked to be running away with the game late in the third after ripping off a 19-to-5 run to go up 87-71, but the Mavericks were locked and loaded with a response.

Harrison Barnes knocked down a jumper at the end of the third quarter to stop the Thunder’s scoring spree, then the Mavericks opened the fourth with 11 unanswered points to cut their deficit to only three points.

Fortunately for the Thunder, Westbrook completely took over the game.

Westbrook got things going with a layup before knocking down a jumper, then found Steven Adams for a dunk to put the Thunder back up eight points. With the momentum shifting back to the Thunder’s favor, Westbrook kept pouring it on.

After a Seth Curry jumper brought the Mavericks back within six points, Westbrook scored 11 points on the next four Thunder possessions to put the game away for good.

While the win was nice, it wasn’t all good for OKC. After being called for an offensive foul in the second quarter, Enes Kanter punched a chair with his right arm during a timeout and fractured his forearm in the process, according to head coach Billy Donovan. 

Along with Westbrook's big night, Victor Oladipo scored 17 points while Steven Adams added 15 points and seven rebounds. 

Barnes led Dallas with 31 points while Justin Anderson scored 17 off the bench. 

The Thunder will be back in action on Sunday afternoon (2:30) against the Cavaliers. 

","published":"2017-01-27T04:53:09.000Z","updated":"2017-01-27T04:53:08.000Z","summary":"

Russell Westbrook scored 45 points to lead the Thunder to a 109-98 win over the Dallas Mavericks. 

","affiliate":{"_id":"5cc353fe1c9d440000d3b70f","callSign":"kwtv","origin":"https://www.news9.com"},"contentClass":"sports_nba","createdAt":"2020-01-31T22:05:47.166Z","updatedAt":"2022-03-30T22:20:33.995Z","__v":2,"breakingNews":[],"entities":[{"_id":"624219f16880e45323a16079","text":"Russell Westbrook","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"624383c66880e45323bcb6eb","text":"Harrison Barnes","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"62421a906880e45323a28f09","text":"Steven Adams","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"6244d6b16880e45323c5456f","text":"Seth Curry","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"624219f46880e45323a166d6","text":"Enes Kanter","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"624219fc6880e45323a17a59","text":"Billy Donovan","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"623fb5486880e453232e4121","text":"Steve McGehee","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"62421ab56880e45323a2d75d","text":"Victor Oladipo","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"62421aa86880e45323a2baab","text":"Justin Anderson","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"623fdd966880e4532347eed9","text":"Thunder","type":"ORGANIZATION","__v":0},{"_id":"62421a786880e45323a25661","text":"Dallas Mavericks","type":"ORGANIZATION","__v":0},{"_id":"623908b66880e45323e5147e","text":"OKC","type":"ORGANIZATION","__v":0},{"_id":"62421b9f6880e45323a48b0e","text":"Cavaliers","type":"ORGANIZATION","__v":0}],"hasBeenCheckedForEntities":true,"openInNewWindow":false,"show":true,"link":"/story/5e34a4bb527dcf49dad86add/thunder-win-third-straight-behind-westbrooks-45-points","hasSchedule":false,"id":"5e34a4bb527dcf49dad86add"};