whether Russell Westbrook still had his same explosiveness, the Okl

OKLAHOMA CITY -- If there were any doubts left about whether Russell Westbrook still had his same explosiveness, the Oklahoma City point guard put those to rest once and for all. Chris Bassitt Jersey . Westbrook finished with 22 points, including two thundering dunks, as the Thunder pulled away in the second half for a 107-93 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. Kevin Durant had 23 points and 10 assists, and Serge Ibaka added 17 points and 13 rebounds as Oklahoma City (3-1) won its 11 straight game over the Mavericks, including the playoffs. The last loss for the Thunder against Dallas was on Jan. 2, 2012. The win was also the Thunders second straight since the return of its All-Star point guard, who rebounded from a 5-of-16 shooting performance in his first game back to finish 10 of 20 on Wednesday. The two dunks -- including one in the fourth quarter when he soared down the lane to give the Thunder its biggest lead at 97-80 -- were the true measure of Westbrooks health after two off-season knee surgeries. "Thats God-given ability; you cant take that away," Durant said. "I knew he would come back right, and he looked great tonight." Monta Ellis led Dallas (3-2), which was playing its second game in two nights, with 20 points. Jae Crowder and Shawn Marion added 17 points each, while Dirk Nowitzki finished with 16. Ellis had seven of the Mavericks 21 turnovers, which resulted in 27 fast-break points for Oklahoma City. "They are a good team, and to win this game in this atmosphere you really have got to be right and really have to be functioning well on all levels," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "And it just wasnt there for us tonight." The Thunder led 57-51 at halftime, quickly extending that lead to as many as 15 points in the third quarter and remaining ahead by double figures throughout the fourth. Westbrook who provided several of the games biggest highlights, putting to rest any doubt about the health of his knee while finishing 10 of 20 from the field. The point guard was 5 of 16 in his first game back, a win over Phoenix, but he took control early against the Mavericks -- soaring through the lane for two one-handed highlight dunks. "Its what we expect," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "Thats who he is. Hes an aggressive player. Hes a talented player that has improved every year. "This is the guy that we all knew what he was going to do when he came back." Westbrook wasted little time in showing there are no ill effects in his second game back after his most recent knee surgery, scoring eight of Oklahoma Citys first 11 points. He only finished with four assists, but he had plenty of help in the facilitating role from Durant and his 10 assists as well as five assists off the bench from Reggie Jackson. The Thunder finished with a season-high 28 assists as a team. Also, rookie Steven Adams finished with six points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes of action. The centre dunked off an assist from Durant to put Oklahoma City up 42-39 in the second quarter, and he followed with a steal on the other end. Adams then threw the outlet pass to a streaking Westbrook, who finished the break with a one-handed dunk that put the Thunder up 46-39 and set the tone for the comfortable second half. "It was good for me," Westbrook said. "Im still on the road to getting back to where I need to be." Dallas led by as many as five points in the first quarter, taking a 20-15 lead after a drive by Ellis. Nowitzki put the Mavericks up 29-26 with a 3-pointer late in the first quarter, but they shot 42.2 per cent (36 of 85) for the game compared to a 43-of-79 (54.4 per cent) shooting effort by Oklahoma City. "Theyre one of the best teams," Dallas forward DeJuan Blair said. "Were also one of the best teams, and thats just what you get." NOTES: Ellis entered averaging 25 points per game, ahead of Nowitzkis 20.3 ... The last player to lead the Mavericks in scoring for the season was Michael Finley during 1999-2000, Nowitzkis second season in the NBA. ... Dallas Shawn Marion moved into 21st on the NBAs all-time list with his two steals for the game, passing Charles Barkley. Marion has 1,649 steals for his career. ... Vince Carter was ejected with 4:01 remaining in the third quarter after an elbow to the face of Adams. Chris Bassitt Athletics Jersey . As a follow-up, TSN.ca offers you the opportunity to chime in on all the big issues with our insiders. Read up on all the questions and answers, and put in your own two cents on our popular Your Call feature. Athletics Jerseys China . -- Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe was alert and recovering at a Denver hospital Saturday after suffering seizure-like symptoms when the teams bus pulled into the airport Friday afternoon for the flight to Kansas City. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/ . Chris Heisey connected for his first grand slam and Devin Mesoraco homered and drove in a career high-tying four runs as Cincinnati took advantage of Tampa Bays depleted pitching staff for a 12-4 victory on Sunday. NEW YORK -- J.J. Hardy finally got in on the fun Saturday, against a likely opponent. Nelson Cruz has been hitting homers all season. Cruz hit his 23rd home run, Hardy connected for his first of the year and the Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Yankees 6-1 after starter Bud Norris left with tightness in his right groin. Adam Jones and Steve Pearce also went deep off struggling soft-tosser Vidal Nuno, helping the Orioles rebound after blowing a two-run lead in the ninth inning of a 5-3 loss Friday night. "Big win for us," Hardy said. Cruz and Pearce each had a two-run shot. Hardy ended a drought of 339 at-bats that dated to last September. "It definitely felt nice," he said. "I felt like I forgot how to do it." "I think it probably is a little bit of a relief. I started to question myself if I ever was going to hit one again," Hardy added. Mark Teixeira hit his 12th home run for the Yankees, who had won four straight and eight of 10, but that was all they managed against Norris and three relievers. During a pregame ceremony on the field, former New York first baseman Tino Martinez was honoured with a plaque to be placed in Monument Park. Making his first start against the Yankees, Norris (7-5) allowed three hits in five innings and matched a career high by winning his fourth straight start. He warmed up on the mound for the sixth but was pulled for Ryan Webb, who pitched two scoreless innings. Tommy Hunter got the final five outs. Norris said he felt something "kind of funny" while throwing a fastball in the fifth. "It kind of grabbed on me," he said. "Ive had groin stuff before, especially my left one but not necessarily my right one. Youve got to be real careful with those." "I could see it getting a little worse and I wanted to be smart, but really, hats off to the offence for scoring and to the bullpen for picking me up," Norris added. "Pretty sore right now." Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Norris probably will pitch the night game of a split doubleheader Friday against Tampa Bay, but the right-hander said it was too soon to tell. "Weve got other options, but Im hoping we caught it in time," Showalter said. Pressed into the rotation because of injuries to CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda, Nuno (1-4) is having a hhard time with the homer-friendly dimensions at Yankee Stadium. Oakland Athletics Gear. He was rocked in his previous outing in Oakland and is 0-4 since beating the Los Angeles Angels on May 7. "This is what we have. And as I said, its not like theres just starting pitchers lying around out there," New York manager Joe Girardi said, explaining that Nuno will stay in the rotation. "Right now, this is what it is." The left-hander yielded five runs -- four earned -- and six hits in 6 1-3 innings. He allowed three home runs and has served up 13 in 39 1-3 innings this season at home, where he is 0-3 with a 7.09 ERA. "My fastball today, I just left it up too much," Nuno said. "I trusted all my stuff today. No regrets and everything, but they just got to my fastball." Jones hit a solo shot with two outs in the first and drew a leadoff walk in the fourth before Cruz connected. Cruz began the day one home run behind Toronto slugger Edwin Encarnacion for the major league lead. "Hes carried us along a lot of the season," Hardy said. Pearces drive made it 5-1 in the fifth, and Hardy went deep off Jose Ramirez in the eighth for his 159th career homer and first since Sept. 5, 2013, against Jose Quintana of the Chicago White Sox. "We like hitting home runs," Jones said. Back in the dugout, Hardy got the silent treatment. He threw sunflower seeds on himself and was doused with water by Cruz. The two-time All-Star shortstop has hit at least 22 home runs five times, including a career-high 30 with Baltimore in 2011. "Normally I just put my head down and run. This time I kind of watched a little bit to make sure that it got up," Hardy said. "As I was rounding third, I looked into the dugout and no one had moved. So I kind of knew that they were going to sit there." NOTES: Baltimore recalled reliever Brad Brach from Triple-A Norfolk. ... Nuno has allowed 15 homers in 67 1-3 innings overall. ... Pineda (right shoulder muscle) will get another week off after an MRI still showed "a trace of inflammation," Girardi said. ... RHP Masahiro Tanaka (11-1, 1.99 ERA) starts Sundays series finale against Orioles RHP Chris Tillman (5-4, 4.82). Hall of Fame reliever Rich "Goose" Gossage will be honoured with a Monument Park plaque as part of festivities for the 68th annual Old-Timers Day at Yankee Stadium. ' ' '