DENVER -- Russell Westbrook was cold from the floor early, but he heated when his team needed it most.

Westbrook scored 24 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied to beat the Denver Nuggets 132-127 on Friday.

Westbrook had a season-high 18 assists and 12 rebound to record his sixth triple-double of the season despite starting the night 1-for-7 from the field.

"One thing about me is I just don't score. Shooting, that doesn't change how I play," he said. "My job is to make sure I get guys going and that's what I did."

Westbrook finished an assist shy of his career high. His 18 assists were the most in an NBA game this season.

Victor Oladipo had 26 points for the Thunder (8-9), which ended a three-game skid.

"It was just a grind," Jerami Grant said. "We're kind of in a rut and it's the only way to get out of it. You have to embrace it and just keep playing hard."

Wilson Chandler led a depleted Denver roster with a season-high 30 points 11 rebounds and Jameer Nelson had 21 points and 13 assists, both season highs for him.

"I thought we played well enough offensively for sure to win the game," Nelson said. "We just couldn't get stops when we needed them."

The Nuggets (6-10) played without Danilo Gallinari for the second straight game with a right thigh injury. Rookie Juancho Hernangomez started in his place Wednesday night in Utah but sprained his right ankle late in the loss and couldn't play.

Will Barton, who returned last week after missing nine games, was away from the team for personal reasons, as was Mike Miller. Gary Harris is expected to miss a few more weeks with a right foot injury.

With a short bench coach Michael Malone played Nelson, Alonzo Gee and rookie Jamal Murray the last 17 minutes.

"I ran that unit a lot," Malone said. "I'm sure fatigue at some point did come in there. I'm sure they got tired at the end."

Nelson hit another 3-pointer midway through the quarter to make it 106-93 then Westbrook took over. He scored 16 points in the final 4:11 of regulation to spark a rally that gave Oklahoma City a 122-119 lead with 9.5 seconds left.

Steven Adams fouled Jamal Murray on a 3-point attempt, and the rookie, who took a hard fall earlier in the period, sank all three free throws to tie it with 8.3 seconds left.

Kenneth Faried blocked Westbrook's layup at the buzzer to send it into overtime.

The Thunder (9-8) never trailed in the overtime and took the lead for good on Oladipo's two free throws with 2:45 left. Murray, who finished with 20 points, hit 1 of 2 at the other end and Adams split a pair at the other end.

The score remained 129-127 for a few possessions but Chandler missed a layup with 13.7 seconds left. Westbrook hit three free throws to ice it.

"We lost a shootout," 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."

Westbrook was only 9-for-25 from the field but hit 14 of 15 free throws to carry the Thunder.

"It's happened a couple of games. It's happened at different points throughout the year," Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan said. "It's his will, his competitiveness and get our team in a position where we had a chance. "

NOTES: The Nuggets' depleted roster could get some reinforcements for Sunday's game in Phoenix. G Will Barton and F Mike Miller were both away for personal reasons. Coach Michael Malone said he expects Miller back Saturday. F Danilo Gallinari's right thigh injury didn't require an MRI and he said it was feeling better. ... Denver faced a familiar face in Joffrey Lauvergne, who played the past two seasons with Denver. He came into Friday's game averaging 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 15.8 minutes for Oklahoma City. ... The Nuggets were 4-12 against the Northwest Division last year and entered Friday 2-3. ... The Thunder have used the same starting lineup in all 17 games this season.