Russell Westbrook has been a dominant force for the Oklahoma City Thunder throughout his career.

Naturally, his name is all over their record books.

On Thursday night, though, Westbrook solidified himself at the top of their all-time scoring list.

Westbrook dropped a season-high 44 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 131-122 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center, which made him the all-time leading scorer in Thunder/Seattle SuperSonics history.

His 40-point triple-double on Thursday was the 12th of his career, too. He’s now tied with James Harden for the second-most in NBA history. Oscar Robertson holds the record with 22.

“I thought Russell’s energy, trying to lift up our team, kind of kept us around, kept us hanging around,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan told Fox Sports Oklahoma after the game. “He really played downhill. He got to the basket. That was the biggest thing, he got to the rim, and then he was able to find people when he did.

“But I think his energy and his inspiration was just trying to keep the guys in it, because, just calling it like it was, we did not have the pop in my opinion that we needed to have … but I think Russell, as he always does, he was trying to will those guys in timeouts and to fight.”

Westbrook passed Kevin Durant earlier this season on the scoring list, and trailed Hall-of-Famer Gary Payton by just five points heading into the matchup on Thursday night. Westbrook has now scored 18,247 points in his 11-year career with the franchise.

The 30-year-old is close to a number of other all-time Thunder records, too, as he began the season second in assists, minutes played and free throws made, third in steals and career rebounds and fifth in games played. He currently needs 724 more assists to pass Payton for that record.

The eight-time All-Star has averaged 21.2 points, 11.2 assists and 11.1 rebounds per game this season for the Thunder.

Despite Westbrook’s 11th triple-double in a row, however, the Thunder couldn’t rally back from a 17-point deficit to grab the road win — which snapped a four-game win streak heading into the All-Star break.

Hear from @okcthunder coach Billy Donovan after his team's final game before the All-Star break.#ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/0y1OIHm6ei — FOX Sports Oklahoma (@FOXSportsOK) February 15, 2019





Paul George added 28 points and seven assists for the Thunder on Thursday night, and Nerlens Noel finished with a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds off the bench. They were the only three players on the team to score in double figures.

Julius Randle led the Pelicans with 33 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 11-of-21 from the field, and Jrue Holiday added 32 points. Anthony Davis, in just his fourth game back, injured his left shoulder right before halftime and did not return. He left the game with 14 points and four rebounds.

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