Thunder vs. Timberwolves, NBA Christmas 2016 final score: Russell Westbrook dominates in 112-100 win over Wolves

As part of a Christmas Day NBA lineup where the Cavaliers and Warriors, Knicks and Celtics, and Spurs and Bulls went head-to-head, Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook was sure to supply presents for his fans.

Now, if you were banking on Russell Westbrook picking up his 15th triple-double during the holiday season, you’re out of luck. Oklahoma City’s Most Valuable Player of the Year candidate fell just three rebounds shy.

But if Westbrook has been consistent about one thing, it’s been this: He doesn’t care whether he gets a triple-double or not. He only cares about winning, and for Oklahoma City fans who share similar interests, their star point guard delivered in spectacular fashion.

Westbrook dominated OKC’s Christmas matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He finished with 31 points on 11-for-25 shooting from the field, and added 15 assists along with seven rebounds, leading the Thunder to its 19th win of the season. It was the seventh time he dished out 15 or more assists this season.

Westbrook said after the game that his role has expanded with the new roster, and his job as Oklahoma City’s leader “is to come in every day and bring it.” And with a flurry of eye-popping assists, he fulfilled his Christmas Day requirement: gifting buckets to his teammates.

There was this ridiculous, one-handed javelin-throw of a pass up-court to a sprinting Enes Kanter.

There was a beautiful look to a cutting Jerami Grant that’s even better in slow motion.

There was this easy lob to find Andre Roberson in transition.

And there was another look, this time to a baseline-cutting Roberson, who finished with a dunk.

In total, Westbrook may have fallen short, but he’s still averaging a triple-double. And you can track his progress towards catching Oscar Robertson as the only player in NBA history to average those numbers here.

Kanter was eerily efficient against the Wolves on Christmas. He shot 80 percent from the field and scored 20 points. But Steven Adams also barely missed, scoring 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting.

The “Stache Bros” had Westbrook’s back all game long.

Early in the second quarter while Westbrook was on the bench, the Thunder ran its offense through Kanter. He assisted or scored on his team’s first eight points of the quarter and had a similar impact in the fourth while Oklahoma City’s star point guard was taking another rest.

If Kanter can continue to give Westbrook backup for the season, he can make this Thunder team a lot tougher to deal with in the Western Conference.

You can call this Minnesota team a lot of things, but “boring” isn’t one of them. That’s because the Timberwolves roster is packed with young high-flyers ready to get up the court and rip the rim down at a moment’s notice.

Karl-Anthony Towns (26 points) and Andrew Wiggins (23 points) each shot 50 percent from the field — though neither hit a three-pointer — and Zach LaVine added 16 points, but the triumvirate of Wolves youngsters didn’t have enough help to compete with a bullish Oklahoma City team.

It sure was fun to watch them try, though.

There’s a noticeable height disparity between Russell Westbrook and Karl-Anthony Towns. So naturally, Towns should be able to enjoy an open look at the basket without a 6’3 Westbrook interrupting, right?

Wrong. Westbrook came from left field and showed why he’s the league’s MVP front-runner, swatting Towns’ would-be layup right off the backboard. That’s Christmas, Westbrook style.