OKLAHOMA CITY -- It was one of those return games in which a team faced a former player. Stage set, anticipation raised, hype built.

Reggie Jackson's return to Oklahoma City to face the team that drafted him ended in a pretty straightforward 103-87 Thunder win over the Detroit Pistons. Jackson struggled, scoring 15 on 4-of-16 shooting, as he dealt with foul trouble the entire game. The player who blocked him from his desired role in OKC, Russell Westbrook, struggled more, scoring 14 on 5-of-14 shooting; Westbrook also committed 11 turnovers and fouled out with four minutes remaining.

Kevin Durant took over the proceedings, as he often does, scoring 34 points with 13 rebounds and five assists. Durant scored 15 in the first quarter, 14 in the third quarter and was integral on the defensive glass as the Thunder limited Andre Drummond to a season-low seven rebounds, the first single-digit rebounding night of the season for the Detroit big man.

Durant was visibly juiced for this one, despite plenty of it's-just-another-game talk leading up to it. After the Thunder finished the third quarter on an 18-6 run to take control of the game, Durant walked back to his bench with clenched fists, pumping his arms at his teammates.

"First half, we were in the right place, mind was in the right place, we had the right energy, but we were too excited to play this game," Durant said. "And I think sometimes when you get too excited, you get a little too tense if things don't go your way."

Jackson's departure from the Thunder last season at the trade deadline contained plenty of acrimony on both sides. It was a slow deterioration of a relationship, culminating in Jackson requesting a trade and the Thunder front office obliging. Westbrook and Durant weren't shy in expressing their distaste with how Jackson publicly handled his business last season, and each took his turn at throwing some passive-aggressive shade Jackson's way on Friday.

First, Westbrook, who after being asked about how the Thunder handled Jackson in his anticipated return, deadpanned back, "Who?"

Reggie Jackson, you know, the guy you played three and a half seasons with.

"What happened?" Westbrook said.

There was a lot of anticipation about --

"From who?"

From media, fans, etc.

"Nobody in this locker room, we wasn't worried," Westbrook said. "We just came out and competed. ... Just another player on another team."

Then Durant, who was asked about the job the Thunder did on Drummond, responded, "Steven [Adams] did a great job on their best player, and Andre [Roberson] did a great job on their second-best player in [Kentavious] Caldwell-Pope and Russ did his job."

Not hard to read between those lines.

The always-confident Jackson, who was expectedly booed during introductions and nearly every time he handled the ball, didn't appear fazed by his cool reception.

"I love to be hated," he said. "It’s flattering, the greatest honor of them all. It’s love and spite all at the same time. They wouldn’t boo me if I didn’t do anything and build some memories here."

All of the drama aside, the Thunder beat a solid Pistons team behind Durant's best performance of the season to win their fourth straight game and improve to 11-6. There appears to be a building momentum within the team as the execution improves game by game and the chemistry between Billy Donovan and his stars strengthens. Defensively, there has been obvious growth in the past couple of weeks, and the offensive refinement is continuing to take better shape.

And, of course, Durant is back and finding his rhythm and feel. On a night when Westbrook wasn't his usual dynamic self, Durant covered for everyone, doing it on both ends. He has been back for three games now and appears to have brushed off any residual rust remaining from his recent hamstring injury.

"The one thing about him that's been remarkable -- I've been around the game a long time and around players that are hurt -- but he pushes everything to the limit in terms of what he can do," Donovan said of Durant. "If he's allowed to stand there and stationary shoot, he'll be out there for an hour and do that. He'll sit there in a chair and work on his ball-handling. He's always finding ways to get better, and for as talented and as good and as special a player he is, the one thing that gets lost on him in my opinion is his work ethic."

It's stating the obvious to say the Thunder are better when Durant plays, but ... they're a lot better when Durant plays. They look like the contender they're expected to be, and against an improved Pistons team, even with the surrounding theatrics, the Thunder handled their business. It was supposedly just another game for them. And it ended with just another win.