It was the best versus the worst and a championship contender versus a team with no owner, much less a sense of direction.
The Thunder (25-7) hosted the Hornets (7-24) Monday night, and the outcome was predictable.
OKC dominated the New Orleans almost the entire game and held off a late surge, winning 101-93.
The Thunder shot 45 percent from the field while limiting New Orleans to shoot 36 percent.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook had 31 points each to lead all scorers.
Kendrick Perkins turned in a nice all-around game, scoring 5 point with 13 rebounds and 6 blocked shots.
The Thunder controlled in the first half, keeping the lead around 10 points before pulling away to lead by 22 at halftime.
OKC has won eight of the past nine meetings between the two teams and nine overall consecutive home games.
Three thoughts from the game:
One of the themes of this shortened NBA season is the necessity for teams to play back-to-back games. With this win, OKC is now 7-3 when in the latter half of back to back contests. That stat is a crucial reason for Thunder being amongst the top in the NBA standings.
One could argue against Durant and Westbrook being the best duo in the NBA, and there are no two teammates in the league that are hotter right now. Durant and Westbrook continued to carry the scoring load combing for 62 points a night after combining for 91 points. Either of these two can score at will and are unselfish enough to feed off each other.
The Thunder have two more games this week before the All Star break. This will be a welcomed rest for Kevin Durant, who has played 82 minutes in the past two games. With Thabo Sefolosha out for another month and James Harden day-to-day with an ankle injury, Durant may be forced to play more minutes than Scott Brooks would prefer.
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