OKLAHOMA CITY -- This is what the Thunder had in mind when they picked up Caron Butler after the trade deadline. . The forward scored 23 points to help Oklahoma City defeat the Denver Nuggets 117-96 on Monday night. He made 10 of 19 shots in 29 minutes as a reserve and posted his highest points total since joining the team. Kevin Durant, who had 27 points and eight assists, liked what the Thunder got from the 34-year-old Butler. "Thats what we want him to do," Durant said. "He was aggressive, and thats what we need him to do for the rest of the year." Butler said it felt good to get loose. "Im just getting into a rhythm," he said. "My teammates are doing a great job of finding me in flow, and Im starting to get a little more familiar with my game and understanding where I like the ball at." Reggie Jackson had 16 points and a career-high 11 assists, and Serge Ibaka added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Thunder, who won their fourth straight. The Thunder sat point guard Russell Westbrook so he could rest his surgically repaired right knee. Westbrooks knee took a hit from Toronto guard Kyle Lowry on Friday, but tests showed no further damage was done. The Thunder have been resting Westbrook for one game of back-to-backs, and Oklahoma City plays at Dallas on Tuesday. As usual, other players filled in successfully. "You have a system thats functioning," Butler said. "The only thing guys got to do is plug into that system and play a certain style and way and give a certain type of effort, and things just continue to move forward." Jackson, who had struggled at times since Westbrook returned after the All-Star break, played one of his best games of the season. "Hes just playing free now," Durant said. "You can just tell hes not getting in his own way, you know, thinking too much mentally and hes just going out there and playing." Ty Lawson scored 25 points, Quincy Miller and Timofey Mozgov each scored 12 points, Kenneth Faried had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Randy Foye had 11 points and four assists for the Nuggets. Denver allowed the Thunder to shoot 51 per cent. "We didnt get into the ball defensively," Denver forward Darrell Arthur said. "Our communication was off." The Thunder matched their highest points total in a quarter this season, making six 3-pointers in the first to take a 41-24 lead. Oklahoma City kept the pressure on and led 72-58 at halftime. The Thunder shot 60 per cent from the field and had their highest points total in any half this season. Durant had 22 points and six assists in the first half while Ibaka scored 15. Only one Thunder player shot worse than 50 per cent in the first half. "They came out strong, and we gave them a lot of easy shots," Lawson said. "It felt like they werent working for anything. Everything was pretty much easy in the first half, I think." Oklahoma City made just six of 18 shots in the third quarter, but the Nuggets were an even worse 3-for-16, so the Thunder actually extended their lead to 90-73 by the end of the period. "We got stops on the first two possessions (of the third quarter), so we could have cut the lead down to 10," Denver coach Brian Shaw said. "Instead, we dont capitalize on those situations, and they come down and score after that and push it right back up to 18 or 20. It was just one of those kinds of nights." NOTES: Thunder C Kendrick Perkins (left groin strain) and G Thabo Sefolosha (left calf strain) are improving, but still are out. Both have missed about a month. ... Durant has scored 25 or more points in 35 consecutive games, the longest streak since Michael Jordan did it 40 consecutive times during the 1986-87 season. ... Nuggets F Wilson Chandler (left groin strain) and F Jan Vesely (left rib cage contusion) did not play. ... Thunder C Hasheem Thabeet missed the game for personal reasons. ... Oklahoma Citys Adams scored in double figures for just the third time this season. ... Thunder G Mustafa Shakur played for just the third time this season. He was NBA D-League Player of the Month in February while playing for the Tulsa 66ers. [url=http://www.frchaussuressoldes.fr/homme-nike-air-max-90.html]Nike Air Max 90 Homme . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks (5) –Crawford does not get enough credit for what he does for the Blackhawks. . - Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery was so busy in free agency he didnt mind having a few extra weeks to prepare for the draft.PHILADELPHIA - Jiri Tlusty scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night. Nathan Gerbe had a highlight-worthy goal and Alexander Semin also scored for Carolina, which improved to 3-0 against Philadelphia this season. Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell scored for the Flyers, who lost for just the second time at home in their last 14 games. Tlusty beat Flyers goalie Steve Mason from close range high to the glove side with 6:10 remaining. The game originally was scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed due to the snowstorm that hit Philadelphia and much of the Northeast. As a result, Carolina also moved its home game against Ottawa from Friday to Saturday in order to avoid playing on three straight nights. The Hurricanes play at Buffalo on Thursday. Semin opened the scoring for Carolina with just over 8 minutes left in the first period when he fired a wrist shot over Masons glove hand into the top shelf. Neither team generated much offence in the opening period, as the Hurricanes outshot Philadelphia 8-3. Each team scored once in the second period, with Gerbe putting the Hurricanes up 2-0 with a breakaway goal with 6:22 left in the period. Gerbe benefited from a mistake by Flyers defenceman Luke Schenn, who misplayed a pass back to the point and couldnt recover when the speedy Gerbe got behind him. He put the puck through his legs and wristed it past Mason with his hands in an awkward position on a goal that surely will be plaayed countless times on the nightly highlight shows. [url=http://www.frchaussuressoldes.fr/femme-nike-air-max-90.html]Nike Air Max 90 Femme. Philadelphia got on the board with 35 seconds left in the second when Giroux scored from a tough angle when his backhander ricocheted off the chest of Carolina goaltender Anton Khudobin and into the goal. And the Flyers tied it just 3 minutes into the third period on Hartnells power-play goal. Giroux took the initial shot from the top of the left circle and Wayne Simmonds failed on the rebound attempt. But the puck caromed off Khudobin and to Hartnell, who scored from point-blank range. Mason had struggled in his last four games, with a 4.55 goals-against average, but brought a strong career record against Carolina into Wednesdays contest. Mason entered 5-1-1 with a 1.85 GAA against the Hurricanes. He finished with 29 saves. NOTES: Tuesdays postponement marked the first time in Flyers history that a home game was postponed due to weather. Philadelphia had to postpone a home game on March 13, 1993, due to arena issues at the Spectrum. ... Philadelphia RW Jakub Voracek started after being questionable due to a left hand injury suffered in Mondays game against the Islanders. ... Carolina hadnt won three straight against Philadelphia since a six-game winning streak from Dec. 22, 1990-April 15, 1992 when they were the Hartford Whalers. ... Peter Laviolette was fired after Philadelphias loss to Carolina on Oct. 6 and replaced by current Flyers coach Craig Berube. ... Carolina won for just the second time in the last 10 meetings against the Flyers in Philadelphia. cheap jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '