A. Suave Francisco

Entering one of the most challenging games of the season in the midst of the longest losing streak of the year, Billy Donovan orchestrated an alternate gameplan that involved a slightly new-look starting lineup to defeat the almighty Greg Popovich and his San Antonio Spurs 102-92 on Thursday night.

This wasn't an easy task, at all, and one may argue that luck was on the Thunder's side in roughly, the last 18 minutes of the game, but at the day's end, the Thunder improved in the win column and in result, overtook the Memphis Grizzlies for the sixth spot in the Western Conference.

You can almost correlate a Thunder win with a Russell Westbrook triple-double by now as they are now (25-6) when Westbrook does so. Tonight he recorded his 31st of the season with 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists which ties Wilt Chamberlain for second-most all-time, now only sitting 10 behind Oscar Robertson for most in a single season.

Coach Donovan altered the starting lineup; something Thunder fans have been pleading for since the team acquired Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott a couple of weeks ago. Well, Thursday night, Gibson finally returned to a team's starting lineup while Domantas Sabonis also started the game...on the bench. All jokes aside, this turned out to be beneficial for the both of them. Gibson finally looked really comfortable in the game on both ends of the floor, finishing with 7 points, 3 rebounds and a multitude of defensive stances while Sabonis came off the bench and had one of his most effective games since December with 6 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 block in 20 minutes.

In Victor Oladipo's second game back since he missed six due to back spasms, he's averaging 18 points. Against the Spurs, he had 20. Enes Kanter finished third on the team in scoring with 14 and added 10 rebounds (6 offensive) for another double-double, something he's pretty familiar with. Steven Adams finally joined the party after underperforming during the majority of OKC's losing streak, scoring 11 points and adding 6 rebounds on 5-of-8 scoring. Adams was a huge part of the Thunder getting a quick start against the Spurs. The last player in double-figures was McDermott, a player that's known for scoring, but hasn't quite found his rhythm yet on his new team. He finished with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting.

It's becoming increasingly evident that the Thunder are a better team when Westbrook records a triple-double, and I believe it's obvious that the Thunder are a better team when Westbrook's supporting cast hits the shots he basically hands to them. It's a two-way street, and hopefully, their latest win can be a positive turning point for the final 17 games of the season leading into the playoffs.

Improving to (36-29) on the season, the Thunder aren't out of the woods yet. The Utah Jazz (41-24) come to town again for the second time since the All-Star break and the Thunder look to knock them off for the second time as well. The last game against Utah was considered mere luck, but a win Saturday may bring the Jazz back down to reality while making this young Thunder team believe they can make some sort of ruckus in the NBA Playoffs.

OKC Snaps Losing Streak With Unlikely Win Over Spurs