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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Thunder fans who braved ice, snow and single-digit temperatures got a special treat -- a look at the old Russell Westbrook. The three-time All-Star scored 26 points to lead Oklahoma City past the Charlotte Bobcats 116-99 Sunday night. He was 10 of 12 from the floor in 25 minutes in his fifth game since returning from right knee surgery. He has steadily improved and is looking more like the player he was before he missed 27 games. "He was aggressive all night, playing downhill on the pick and rolls," said Thunder forward Kevin Durant, who finished with 28 points. "He was just great tonight. That was good to see." Westbrook said he needed time to get comfortable again. "The more I play, the more rhythm Im able to catch and the more rhythm Im able to get," he said. Reggie Jackson scored 17 points and Serge Ibaka had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who won their second straight after losing their first three games following the All-Star break. Oklahoma City outrebounded the Bobcats 44-29. Durant made just 8 of 24 field goals, but sank all 12 of his free throws. He also had six rebounds and five assists. "I get a lot of shots, man," Durant said. "Theres going to be nights when I feel like that. Its a part of the game, and I think thats the beauty of the game -- just trying to fight through the obstacles, do what I can to help my team." Al Jefferson scored 25 points and Anthony Tolliver added 17 for the Bobcats, who had won four straight before losses to San Antonio and Oklahoma City. The Thunder made 13 of 24 shots in the fourth quarter to outscore the Bobcats 31-18. Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said his team had the wrong mindset to close the game. "I think through three quarters we did a good job, but we came out in the fourth, and again, particularly when they brought their starters back, we just couldnt contain the ball and couldnt keep the ball out of the paint, which has been something weve been good at all year," he said. Westbrook scored 17 points on 7-for-7 shooting in the first half to help the Thunder take a 61-55 lead at the break. "He set the tone the first half," Clifford said. "He always plays with high energy, and if hes going to make all the shots, then theyre going to be hard to beat." Jefferson had 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting. The Bobcats shot 54 per cent in the first half, but were outrebounded 20-13. The Bobcats started off hot in the second half. A 3-point play by Gerald Henderson trimmed Oklahoma Citys lead to 61-60. The Thunder responded with a 6-0 run, including two putback baskets by Steven Adams, to take a 67-60 lead. Westbrook showed some of his explosiveness after a steal. He drove down court, then extended his right arm and elevated for a powerful one-handed throwdown to give the Thunder a 77-67 lead. "Tonight, he was phenomenal," Durant said. "He was great. That dunk capped it off." The Bobcats hung tough and trailed just 85-81 at the end of the third quarter. Charlotte cut the deficit to 86-84 early in the fourth quarter, but the Thunder responded with an 8-2 run. A perfectly executed pick-and-roll ended with Durant scoring on a pass from Westbrook, and Ibaka scored on the next possession to give the Thunder a 104-92 lead and put the game out of reach. Westbrook, who also had five assists, dominated from the start. "I thought Russell really had a great command of the game," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "I think it is good to see him continue to get his game legs under him. I give the staff a lot of credit. They have put him in a position to get better day by day." NOTES: Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti announced before the game that Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha would miss four to six weeks with a left calf strain. Sefolosha left Fridays game against Memphis in the first half and didnt return. ... Several Oklahoma City players, including Durant and Westbrook, travelled to Stillwater, Okla., Saturday night to watch Oklahoma State upset No. 5 Kansas. ... Presti said new acquisition Caron Butler will be with the team Monday after the Thunder signed him Saturday. ... Durant was called for a technical foul in the first quarter after being whistled for a carry and disagreeing with the call. Washington Capitals Jerseys . The Raptors two leading scorers were never able to co-exist the way they hoped or the team had envisioned, but individually DeRozan was thriving, in the midst of a career season. Jakub Vrana Jersey . -- Among the 31 players at the Montreal Canadiens rookie camp, none feels closer to cracking the NHL roster than right winger Aaron Palushaj. http://www.officialcapitalspro.com/John ... ls-jersey/. This is the final meeting of the season between these teams.? The Capitals were 5-4 winners in a shootout Oct. Nicklas Backstrom Jersey . James scored 25 points against his former team, leading the energized Heat to a 114-107 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. Dwyane Wade added 24 points and Chris Bosh had 22 for the Heat, idle since a 90-84 loss Tuesday at Indiana. Dale Hunter Jersey . The trade deadline is Monday, Mar. 2 at 3pm et/Noon pt. TRADES COMPLETED SINCE OCT. 1, 2014: Feb. 15, 2015 Toronto Maple Leafs acquire: F Olli Jokinen, F Brendan Leipsic, 1st Round Pick (2015) Nashville Predators acquire: D Cody Franson, F Mike Santorelli Feb.TORONTO -- Any win is worth celebrating, especially if you are Toronto FC. But Saturdays 4-1 victory over D.C. United was like beating your little brother, who had just got out of hospital. At 3-21-6, D.C. United is the only team with a worse record than Toronto (5-15-11) in MLS. There has been little to celebrate for the once mighty franchise this season. But United is in the U.S. Open Cup final on Tuesday, taking on Real Salt Lake for a prized trophy. So coach Ben Olsen shuffled his entire starting lineup for the Toronto game, resting his starters for the cup final. United dressed just 16 players, two short of the maximum. His starting lineup included 17-year-old forward Michael Seaton, making his league debut. "I set these guys up to fail today," said Olsen. "Its pretty simple." "We hung in there for about 60 minutes. Then I got some guys out that were going to maybe to factor into the Tuesday game. And now Im putting guys out of position. You start adding those up and youre playing a real team in the MLS, thats what can happen. "Our focus this week, the majority was on Tuesday and I set them up to fail. But I was proud of the effort. Certainly the work rate and the commitment from the guys, I couldnt ask for better." Toronto scored three goals in a 20-minute span of the second half as Olsen made substitutions and his reserve players lack of fitness was exposed. "Because they havent had a 90(-minute game) in a long time," he said. "You add it all up and thats what can happen at the end of a game." Bright Dike, Alvaro Rey and Darel Russell scored for Toronto, which also benefited from an own goal before an announced crowd of 15,879 at BMO Field on a sunny, windy afternoon. Midfielder Jared Jeffrey replied for D.C. United. Dikes winning goal came in the 67th minute after referee Ted Unkel played advantage down the right flank when a D.C. United defender pulled a Toronto player down. Fullback Mark Bloom motored past the wreckage and sent in a cross that Dike volleyed home for his first goal in a Toronto shirt. Toronto made it 3-1 four minutes later after Reys cross from in close bounced in off D.C. United defender Conor Shanosky. Rey than dribbled around a string of defenders before slotting the ball home in the 87th minute to pad the lead. The win snapped an eight-game league winless streak for Toronto. D.C. United now hasnt won in eight games. "We kind of expected it," acting Toronto manager Jim Brennan said of the weakened United lineup. "A wins a win. Regardless of who youre playing against," he added. "Its always good to get a win. It doesnt matter who they end up bringing. Those boys in that (home) dressing room will be happy with that result and getting the goals that they did today." No doubt there were no complaints when the Toronto players saw who they were facing. Uniteds depleted side helped kickstart a sputtering Toronto offence that had not scored more than one goal in a game since July 27. Coming into the game, the Toroonto starting 11 had combined for just six goals this season.dddddddddddd And it was Torontos biggest offensive output since a 5-1 win over CD Aguila of El Salvador in August 2012 in CONCACAF Champions League play. Olsens team sheet had no starting place for Dwayne De Rosario, Luis Silva, Chris Pontius, Dejan Jakovic, John Thorrington, Nick DeLeon, Bill Hamid or any other starter that featured in last weekends loss in New England. "Unfortunately we have the luxury to not matter so much about results in the league," said Olsen. "So that (lineup) decision wasnt a hard one." Toronto winger Bobby Convey spent five seasons at D.C. United at the start of his career and said he knew maybe one starter on the other side of the field. Some were young enough to be his kids, the 30-year-old joked. Toronto FC was without suspended defender Steven Caldwell, midfielder Jonathan Osorio, manager Ryan Nelsen and assistant coach Fran OLeary. Assistant coach Brennan, the franchises first player and captain, ran the sidelines. Toronto elected to start Bloom over Richard Eckersley at fullback. With both Eckersley and goalie Stefan Frei on the bench, that meant Toronto had more than US$500,000 in cap hit watching from the sidelinesent in pink as part of MLSs breast cancer awareness campaign, captained Toronto in Caldwells absence. Bendik won the starting job after Frei was injured in t. Goalie Joe Bendik, resplendent in pink as part of MLSs breast cancer awareness campaign, captained Toronto in Caldwells absence. Bendik won the starting job after Frei was injured in the first pre-season game. While the rosters were thin, the goals were of top quality. Jeffreys goal came in the 15th minute on a beautiful left-footed shot from outside the penalty box that found the top corner while beating a diving Bendik. Defender Doneil Henry offered an unwitting assist with his clearing header going right to an unmarked Jeffrey, who scored the second MLS goal of his young career. Russell equalized in the 26th minute after United was unable to clear a free kick. The ball was sent back in, bouncing off a D.C. United defender to Russell, who put the ball away acrobatically with a side-scissors kick. It was the third goal of the season for the English midfielder, who specializes in highlight-reel scores. Joe Willis made a great save, low and in the corner, off Dike in the 34th minute after a fine cross from Rey. The Spanish winger almost scored himself in the 57th minute, curling a ball across goal that came close to dipping into the net in the swirling wind. Toronto pushed the pace in the second half in a game where every set play seemed like an adventure waiting to happen D.C. United is now 0-13-3 on the road this season. A game in Kansas City represents the last chance to avoid joining the 2011 Vancouver Whitecaps and three other teams as the only MLS clubs to go through an entire season without a road victory. The victory was Torontos 50th in league play in seven seasons, raising its career MLS mark to 50-103-66. Olsen wasnt that impressed by what he saw in the home side, which fell behind in the first half. "It was OK, I guess," he said of the Toronto performance ' ' '