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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Russell Westbrook tied for third place in the NBA in triple-triple with 23 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder carried out a regular season sweep of Cleveland Cavaliers with a win of 100-83 on Wednesday night.
The Westbrook triple-double was his third this season – all in the last four games – and the 107th of his career, equaling Jason Kidd and outscoring only Oscar Robertson (181) and Magic Johnson (138). Kidd took 1,247 games to reach 107, while Westbrook needed only 760.
The 19 rebounds represent one of Westbrook's career highs, in last season's final against Memphis.
Jerami Grant added 21 points, one less than his career best, on 8 out of 12 shots for the Thunder, who won 13 of 16 after a 0-4 start.
Jordan Clarkson led Cleveland with 25 points while Collin Sexton (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Cedi Osman (14 points, 10 rebounds) each had a double-double. The Cavaliers agreed to exchange Kyle Korver for Utah Jazz after the team's arrival at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, leaving only nine players in uniform. Eight of them have entered the game.
Oklahoma City fell 55-51 in the third quarter when Westbrook started a 13-0 run with a 3-pointer. He crowned the match by helping Grant with a breakeven at 5:36 in the period that completed the double triple and set the Thunder up 64-55.
At the end of the quarter, the Thunder led 73-62 and the Cavaliers were just nine before the rest of the way.
Cleveland took advantage of the Thunder's early offensive defense to double 11 points, the latter at 38-27 after a 3-pointer Osman with 7:01 to go in the second quarter. Oklahoma City used a 20-6 run to return in the match, which was tied 47-at halftime.
TIP-INS
Riders: Asked before the match on the exchange scheduled to send Korver to Utah, coach Larry Drew declined to comment. Korver was on the scene when he learned the agreement, which still needed to be approved by the NBA. Sam Dekker (sprained left ankle) missed his 10th straight game, and George Hill (sprained right shoulder) missed his ninth row. . David Nwaba missed his second consecutive game due to a right knee pain and was replaced in the starting lineup by Larry Nance Jr. The Tristan Thompson series of four consecutive doubles has ended. He had four points and two rebounds.
Thunder: Alex Abrines made his first start of the season but managed 1 of 9 from the field. . Nerlens Noel played despite a bruised calf and scored eight points. . Paul George was in trouble for most of the game, but he had 18 points. . The Thunder made its 353rd round in a row, the third longest run in the NBA and tied with Sacramento for the tenth longest in the history of the league. . Oklahoma City won 95-86 in Cleveland on November 7th.
FOLLOWING
Riders: Finish a swing on the road to two games Friday in Boston.
Thunder: Finish a four-game family match on Friday against Atlanta.
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More NBA AP: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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