For some NBA news today, the Oklahoma Thunder pulled away in the last minute to beat the rebuilding team of the Phoenix Suns for a 103-96 victory last Sunday.

Russell Westbrook, who missed playing for the Thunder for six months after injuring his knees six months ago, played a bit rusty but managed to help the team seal the victory.

"I just missed some easy ones but that will come," the all-star guard said. "I'm able to do what I want. I could be better but that's all right. That's expected. I'm not expected to come back and be bionic man. I'm just going to work my way through it."

OKC coach Scott Brooks expressed his enthusiasm for Westbrook for being back in the game in which he is now happy that their team leader is back. He said that Russell brings a lot to the team that had them fail to finish strong in last year's playoffs.

"There are two things that (Westbrook) does at a high level," the Oklahoma coach said. "He wins. He's a winner. The guy plays the game like it's supposed to be played. It's not always going to be perfect but he plays with everything he has every single night. To me that's inspiring. The second thing is leadership. It's taken him some time to get that. Now he is our leader."

Teammate and all-star forward Kevin Durant also showed his excitement for his teammate's return. He pointed out that the crowd as well was happy that their team is now back and strong hungry for another shot at the championship.

"It was good for him to be back," Durant said. "I know how much he loves the game. The crowd was great. Unbelievable. Classy group of fans. Always behind (Westbrook) and accepted him so well tonight. It was cool to see."

The Suns missed their chance to win the game while leading 79-73 early in the fourth quarter after a 14-6 rally by the Thunder led by two three-point plays from Serge Ibaka and veteran Derek Fisher, making the score 95-87 with two minutes remaining.

Despite the loss, Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek was pleased with the effort of his team battling it out against a strong, playoff-caliber team like OKC at the road.

"Our guys fought hard and that's a good team and we had a chance to win on their court, so I'm pretty happy with the effort," former Utah Jazz player Hornacek said. "That's the ultimate goal, when you go on the road, is to have a chance at the end, especially a team like this. It's very difficult to win in this gym. We were right there and had some chances."

The Phoenix team is now 2-1 coming in the season.