Thunder 88, T’wolves 85

Oklahoma City – It didn’t take long for Russell Westbrook to show the defensive prowess that convinced the Oklahoma City Thunder to make him their first-round draft pick.

Westbrook sparked a comeback with back-to-back steals on the defensive end and then scored the go-ahead basket for the last of his 14 points as the Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves for their first victory in their new home.

Westbrook, who earlier sparked a 13-0 run that pulled the Thunder out of a third-quarter deficit, hit the decisive basket with a driving layup that made it 86-85 with 2:19 to play, and Oklahoma City stopped Minnesota on its next six possessions to hang on for the victory.

Former Kansas University forward Nick Collison finished the game 4-of-8 from the field and 2-of-2 at the free-throw line for Oklahoma City. Collison totaled 10 points in the victory.

Bucks 94, Knicks 86

New York – Scott Skiles demands defense in Milwaukee. Mike D’Antoni wants to open up the offense in New York.

So far, the advantage goes to Skiles’ style.

Richard Jefferson and Ramon Sessions each scored 18 points, and the Bucks used a strong defensive effort to shake off Michael Redd’s injury.

Redd added 16 points, making all three three-point attempts, before leaving due to a sprained right ankle with Milwaukee leading by 16 late in the third quarter. Charlie Villanueva also scored 16, while Andrew Bogut had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bucks wasted another positive defensive effort in a 91-87 loss to Toronto on Saturday, but bounced back to improve to 2-2, with both victories on the road. They have limited opponents to just 93 points per game.

“We knew we had to win tonight. There’s no question about it,” Redd said. “Tonight was a must-win for us. We won two out of our last three road games, which is positive.”

Quentin Richardson had 28 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who have shot under 38 percent in their past two games, making D’Antoni’s offensive system look awful. With Stephon Marbury again inactive, they went scoreless for more than 31â2 minutes to start the third quarter.