OKLAHOMA CITY -- This is what the Thunder had in mind when they picked up Caron Butler after the trade deadline. John Matuszak Jersey . 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. Aldon Smith Jersey . In the opening game of his fourth-round match at the U.S. Open, the owner of 17 major titles got passed at the net twice, sailed a backhand long, then missed two forehands to get broken. Ronnie Lott Jersey . You can catch all of the action LIVE on TSN2 at 6pm et/3pm pt. The Heat reached that mark Saturday night when they ruined the Philadelphia 76ers home opener. http://www.authenticraidersfansclub.com/Black-Friday-Sebastian-Janikowski-Jersey/ . They say things like "stress is when you dont know what youre doing" and "I wasnt hired to motivate players, I was hired to coach motivated players." They ring as true now as they did when Mularkey heard them the first time playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach 25 years ago.Terry Venables believes the current England squad can draw inspiration from Euro 96 as they look to build on their result against Russia. England were denied victory in their Euro 2016 Group B clash when conceding a stoppage-time goal to draw 1-1 at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille on Saturday. It was a familiar story for England, who have never won their opening match at a European Championship and began their campaign 20 years ago with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland at Wembley. England face a crucial Battle of Britain against Wales in Lens on Thursday, evoking memories of their 2-0 victory over Scotland in the group stage at Euro 96. Paul Gascoigne celebrates his famous goal for England against Scotland at Euro 96 Venables, who was in charge of England during the Championships and led them to the semi-finals before losing on penalties to Germany, is convinced the current crop of players can bounce back from Saturdays disappointment.Speaking to Sky Sports News HQ, he said: Thats what happened to us. We had a draw against Switzerland and then we had to play against Scotland. Talking about motivation, you couldnt get more motivation than playing Scotland. England v Wales: Past meetings How have the Three Lions fared in previous meetings against The Dragons? I knew in the first 10, 15, 25 minutes that the Scots would come and hit us like a brick wall. They played really, really well for the opening 30 minutes, but for the rest of the game it went well for us, especially in the second half. The main thing yyou must make sure of is that you dont lose the opening match. Kelechi Osemele Jersey. Once you lose, everybody gets a bit nervy, so youve got to hold your nerve. They didnt want to lose the first game, they will want to be winning from the second game onwards. Eric Dier (C) stunning free-kick was cancelled out by Vasili Berezutskis header We had Scotland which was a tough game and of course we had the Netherlands and Spain, so the first game was helpful that we did draw. So, dont worry too much about the draw. If its a draw youre still in it.Normally on the first game, you can have a good bet on it being a draw. You find that every team wants to get a point on the board after the opening game so theyve got something they can be happy about and take that into the second game. Terry Venables (L), alongside coach Bryan Robson, led England to the semi-finals of Euro 96 Venables is confident England will improve and has backed Roy Hodgsons Rolls Royce players to start picking up victories. Roy has got the squad, they have been training really well and I think weve got some real Rolls Royce players as far as I am concerned, he said. They have to keep themselves to themselves, let other people do the talking and well do all the action. I think we can look forward to some good results. Also See: Dier: Wales a massive game Hodgson hits back at Bale Hennessey to play through pain England in wind-down mode Cheap Authentic Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2018 Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Cheap Authentic Jerseys Cheap Authentic Jerseys ' ' '