lowest qualifying gross punting average at 41.6 yards per punt.Minnesota parted with embattled kicker Blair Walsh and signed Kai

DENVER -- The Denver Nuggets contained Russell Westbrook for three quarters, but he took over with the game slipping away from Oklahoma City.Westbrook had 36 points, 18 assists and 12 rebounds for his sixth triple-double, and the Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 132-129 in overtime on Friday night.Westbrook scored 24 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to help the Thunder rally from 13 down and end a three-game losing streak. His 18 assists were a season high and the most in an NBA game this season.Its happened a couple of games. Its happened at different points throughout the year, Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. Its his will, his competitiveness and get our team in a position where we had a chance.Victor Oladipo had 26 points for the Thunder and a couple of key buckets late in the fourth, one off a steal.He did a great job, using his size, his length, getting out in transition and getting steals, Westbrook said. That helped us a lot, got us easy buckets.Westbrook scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to start the comeback. His two free throws with 9.5 seconds left made it 122-119, but Denver tied it when Steven Adams fouled Jamal Murray on a 3-point attempt and the rookie hit the free throws.Kenneth Faried blocked Westbrooks layup at the horn to send it into overtime, but the Thunder felt confident after rallying.Weve got to win, Westbrook said of the mood on the bench. Very simple.Wilson Chandler finished with a season-high 30 points and 11 rebounds. Jameer Nelson had 21 points and 13 assists, both season highs, for the Nuggets.I thought we played well enough offensively for sure to win the game, Nelson said. We just couldnt get stops when we needed them.Oladipo hit two free throws to put the Thunder ahead 128-126 in overtime. The Nuggets had a chance to tie in the final 20 seconds but Chandler missed a layup and Westbrook hit two more free throws with 13.7 seconds left.We lost a shootout, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. My biggest disappointment is that we were never able to consistently get stops. We knew Westbrook at some point was going to go off.TIP-INSThunder: Westbrook finished an assist shy of his career high. He also had seven turnovers. ... Oklahoma City has used the same starting lineup in all 17 games.Nuggets: Murray finished with 20 points and seven rebounds. ... Denver had just 10 players active. Mike Miller and Will Barton were away from the team for personal reasons. Danilo Gallinari (right thigh), Juancho Hernangomez (right ankle sprain) and Gary Harris were all out. ... Denver Broncos Hall of Famer and current team executive John Elway was sitting courtside.SCARY MOMENTMurray took a hard fall when he was fouled on a dunk attempt. He was on the floor for a few minutes but got up and hit the two free throws.OLD SCHOOLMalone expressed plenty of admiration for Westbrook before the game. Malone likened the NBAs leading scorer to a bruiser from the days when the league was known for its rough play.I think hes a throwback player, Malone said. I think hes a guy that would have excelled back in the `80s, which is my favorite period of the NBA when (there wasnt) all this lovey-dovey, hug-and-kissing and no hard fouls. There were real rivalries and everything earned and every game you won had to be earned.UP NEXTThunder: Host Detroit on Saturday.Nuggets: At Phoenix on Sunday. Cheap Jerseys From China . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. Cheap Football Jerseys China . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. http://www.cheapfootballjerseys.us.org/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Wholesale Football Jerseys Online . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. Wholesale Authentic Jerseys . Aduriz headed home Markel Susaetas cross in the sixth minute to open the scoring at San Mames Stadium. He bettered that with a long-range blast that went in off the goal frame in the 18th, and converted a penalty in the 72nd after Diego Mainz was sent off for fouling Aduriz with only the goalkeeper to beat. MINNEAPOLIS -- When the season began, the Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings were expected to be among the top teams in the NFC.The two teams had Super Bowl aspirations with talented rosters coming off last years playoff appearances. Minnesota started the year 5-0, while Arizona was 1/3 a month into the season.Since their undefeated start, the Vikings have lost four games in a row. The Cardinals (4-4-1) have used two wins against the San Francisco 49ers to jumpstart the second half of the season.Despite the differing paths, there is still a road to playoff contention as they meet Sunday in Minnesota.Weve been fortunate with some of the other things that have happened in the league that were still in a good place, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. We can go out and win. I know everybody thinks Im crazy, but my goal is to win the division. So, go out and get some wins and get going again. Thats all.The last two ball games have been (close and), honestly, could go either way. We didnt win them, so we just need to get a couple of these either-way games and win. Thats kind of what happened at the beginning of the season. So, its a seven-game season now.Minnesota is tied for the NFC North lead with the Detroit Lions at 5-4. Arizona is two games behind Seattle in the NFC West but still in prime wild-card position.Both teams have dealt with plenty of injuries, which will also impact Sundays game.The Vikings lost left tackle Jake Long for the rest of the season when he injured his Achilles in last weeks 26-20 loss at Washington. Long, signed as a street free agent in October, had already been an injury replacement at left tackle after starter Matt Kalil was lost after two games.Zimmer hasnt revealed his plans for his battered offensive line on Sunday. Jeremiah Sirles could join the starting lineup. Minnesota, which has also lost right tackle Andre Smith for the season, has T.J. Clemmings at the other tackle.Weve definitely been a little bit unfortunate as far as some of the injuries that weve had up front, quarterback Sam Bradford said. But like weve done in the past, we just have to keep moving forward. Obviously, Sirles and T.J., they started a couple of games together so we feel confident in them because theyve been out there, theyve done it before. Theyve played a lot of football. As bad as this is to continue to lose guys youve just got to try to stay positive and just keep moving forward.Arizonas injuries have hit hardest in thhe secondary.ddddddddddddSafety Deone Bucannon missed Wednesdays practice with an ankle injury. Defensive back Tyrann Mathieu was limited in Wednesdays practice with a shoulder injury. Mathieu missed last weeks game with the injury. Both are questionable for the game.My shoulder feels fine, its stable for the moment, Mathieu told the Arizona Republic. Ill continue to put it to work during practice and see where Im at, at the end of the week.Cardinals coach Bruce Arians and Zimmer know each other well dating back to their time as coordinators in the AFC North. Arians was the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator facing Zimmers defenses for the Cincinnati Bengals.Ive always respected Zim as one of the most sound, aggressive defensive coaches that Ive ever gone against ... They dont beat themselves, Arians said via conference call. I think our defense, our defensive line is playing at a very high level right now. I think both offensive lines have their work cut out for them.Arizona owns the leagues second-ranked defense in terms of yardage, one spot ahead of Zimmers Minnesota crew. The Cardinals are allowing 295.2 yards per game compared to the Vikings 308.8 yards per game. But Minnesota is giving a league-low 16.9 points per game. Arizona is tied for third, giving up 17.8 points per game.I think this is going to be one of our biggest challenges of the year, Bradford said. Probably the best group that weve faced. So, I think its important that we have a great week of practice and get ourselves ready to go.Both teams also made significant special teams changes this week. The Cardinals brought back punter Drew Butler after Ryan Quigley didnt prove to be an upgrade the past six games. Quigley had the leagues lowest qualifying gross punting average at 41.6 yards per punt.Minnesota parted with embattled kicker Blair Walsh and signed Kai Forbath. Walsh had only made 75 percent of his field-goal attempts and hit just 78.9 percent of his extra-point attempts.It was just something we felt like we needed to do, kind of move forward, Zimmer said. Were all accountable for the things we have to get done, and I think we gave him a lot of opportunities. Although, Blairs a great kid, and it was hard to do. Its just part of the business.Business this week, for both teams, will be trying to stay in the playoff race. ' ' '