Despite playing with heavy hearts, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant tuned up for NBA All-Star Weekend with all-star-type performances.
Westbrook had 23 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds while Durant also netted 23, as the Thunder rolled to their 14th win in the last 16 games after routing the visiting New Orleans Pelicans 121-95.
Both clubs were feeling the tragic loss of Ingrid Williams, the wife of former Pelicans head coach and current Thunder assistant Monty Williams, who died on Wednesday at age 44 from injuries suffered in a car accident the night before, when her vehicle was struck head-on by another that sped across the median.
Many players were hit hard by the death and a moment of silence was observed for her before the game.
“It’s definitely been a tough couple of days,” Durant said. “It’s still kind of tough, still fresh in our minds. But with the love from the crowd, we leaned on each for that love and went out there and played. Basketball has that effect, it allows you to just forget about things for a little bit and brings you together as a group.”
On court, Oklahoma City (40-14) joined Golden State and San Antonio as the only teams with at least 40 wins. “We have 40 wins now and that’s a good mark for us,” Westbrook said.  “We’ll try to get better as we get ready for the second half of the season.”
Westbrook was named the MVP of the 2015 All-Star Game, and was voted a Western Conference starter along with Durant for the league’s annual mid-season showcase to be played in Toronto.
Serge Ibaka had 18 points while reserve Enes Kanter contributed 11 and 12 boards for Oklahoma City, who led by as many as 27 in the second half en route to a ninth consecutive home court victory.  
Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday scored 23 points apiece for the Pelicans (20-33), whose modest two-game winning streak ended abruptly with their most-lopsided loss of the season. “I thought we were hanging in, then, in the second half they got into us,” New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said. “This team is a kind of team that when they get on a roll they are really hard to guard.”
Oklahoma City built a 62-53 halftime advantage behind 18 points from Westbrook and 17 from Durant before taking control.
Ahead by eight with 7:18 left in the third frame, Westbrook and Ibaka hit three-pointers to ignite a 15-3 surge. Durant’s triple capped it, opening up an 86-66 cushion at the 3:23 mark.
Oklahoma carried a 95-74 lead into the final frame, and with Westbrook and Durant on the bench watched the reserves wrap up the win.
“I just wanted to say, I really appreciated all of our guys,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “The way they handled a really difficult situation when obviously these last 24 hours was sadness and heartache for all of us.”  
In the day’s only other game, Khris Middleton scored 14 of his 27 points in the final quarter, as the Milwaukee Bucks held off the visiting Washington Wizards 99-92. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 17 points with 13 rebounds while Jabari Parker also netted 17 in Milwaukee’s (22-32) second straight win.
Bradley Beal topped Washington (23-28) with 19 points while John Wall had 15 with 10 assists.
Trailing by 11 in the second quarter, the Wizards clawed to within 93-90 on two Wall free throws with 1:36 left. But Middleton hit a jumper and fed Greg Monroe for layup with 15 seconds left to seal the victory.