Moore caps Bulls rally as Chicago overcomes Westbrook's 43

With the basketball world fixated on Russell Westbrook's sensational play and his surging Oklahoma City Thunder, E'Twaun Moore and the Chicago Bulls stole a 108-105 victory from Westbrook and co. on Thursday.

Westbrook became the first player in franchise history with three straight 40-point games, finishing with 43 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals in pursuit of a fifth straight triple-double. But the speed demon also shot 2-of-9 in a fourth quarter that saw the Bulls outscore the Thunder 36-26 to pull ahead in the final seconds.

After a Westbrook air-ball that caused a shotclock violation, Tom Thibodeau's Bulls executed a flawless out-of-timeout play to get Moore the game winning 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining.

Westbrook stepped out of bounds to turn the ball over again on the ensuing Thunder possession, and the Bulls escaped with a home victory after having trailed by as many as 16 in the first half.

Pau Gasol, who provided the superb touch-pass on Moore's game-winner, recorded his league-leading 40th double-double, pouring in 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Joakim Noah reached the career 5000-rebound plateau in a four-point, 12-rebound, nine-assist performance.

Nikola Mirotic scored a team-high 26 points for the Bulls, while Mike Dunleavy and Moore added 21 and 19, respectively.

Serge Ibaka finished with 25 points, nine rebounds and three blocks for the Thunder, whose lead over the New Orleans Pelicans for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot shrunk to a half-game.