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 Guard Eric Bledsoe prevailed in a battle of elite point guards,
producing 28 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists while outdueling
Russell Westbrook and giving the Phoenix Suns 117-113 overtime win
over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.
The Suns earned their second win in a row while snapping Oklahoma
City's seven-game winning streak.
Westbrook recorded his league-leading fourth triple-double of the
season -- and his second straight -- with 39 points, 14 rebounds and
11 assists. However, he took 38 shots, the highest total by any
player in the NBA this season.
Westbrook put up a fifth straight 20-point, 10-assist game, but he
missed a chance to become the first to do so five straight wins
since Magic Johnson accomplished the feat in 1987.
Westbrook's 38th shot of the game came with 5.7 seconds left in
overtime and his team down by two points. It was an open reverse
layup, but Westbrook stepped on the foot of Phoenix forward Markieff
Morris and turned his right ankle on the takeoff and missed the
shot.
Forward P.J. Tucker put the game away for Phoenix with two free
throws with three-tenths of a second left.
 Westbrook's 38 shots tied the record for the most ever against a
Suns team, a mark shared by Lou Hudson (1974), Cazzie Russell (1974)
and Kobe Bryant (2009).
"I twisted my ankle on somebody's foot. I thought it was a foul, but
..." Westbrook said. "Honestly, I thought I shot too much. I have to
do a better job of trusting my teammates."
The Thunder lost for the first time in four games without forward
Kevin Durant, who is sidelined due to a right foot injury.
Morris had 29 points and 11 rebounds for the Suns, who notched their
first overtime win in five tries this season -- and their third
victory in 13 games decided by four points or fewer.
"All we've been through all year, fighting through so many of these
games we've lost in overtime or on last-seconds shots, it was big to
get stops, stick together and grow as a team," Suns forward P.J.
Tucker said. "We knew it would be that kind of game. (Bledsoe and
Westbrook) are ball-dominant players who get to the basket. It was
an epic battle, and they both played really well."
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was only the third time in
NBA history that opposing players had at least 28 points, 13
rebounds and nine assists in the same game -- and the first time in
54 years. Bob Petit of the St. Louis Hawks was on the losing end in
both the other games, both in 1961, falling to Elgin Baylor of the
Los Angeles Lakers in one game and Jerry West of the Lakers in the
other.
Bledsoe played the final 5:20 of regulation and the entire overtime
with five fouls, but he kept coming up with big plays at both ends
to give the Suns victories on back-to-back games nights after they
lost eight of the previous nine. Phoenix (31-28) moved within 1 1/2
games of Oklahoma City (32-26) for the eighth and final playoff
position in the Western Conference.
"I'm trying to step up and show a little more leadership and
enthusiasm. This is my team now, people are telling me," said
Bledsoe, who hit 11 of 16 shots from the field. "(The Thunder have)
been on a run, and we've been kind of slumping, but we knew that if
we could win, we'd be sitting in a good spot."
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Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek said Bledsoe earned a good night's
sleep.
"To have to guard Westbrook and run around those picks and still
have the energy to still score with a burst of speed is pretty
impressive," Hornacek said. "I think he's lying in the locker room a
little tired right now."
Going head-to-head against Bledsoe all night, Westbrook shot
2-for-13 in the first half but scored 31 points in the second half,
giving the Thunder an opportunity at an eighth straight victory.
"(Westbrook) is so explosive. He has been playing out of his mind
and with tremendous confidence over the past month," Bledsoe said.
"I wanted to show some toughness and hope that it rubbed off on
everyone else, which it did."
Oklahoma City trailed 9-0 three minutes into the game and by 14 in
the second quarter. The thunder led by seven in the third and
trailed 100-90 with 5:57 left before reeling off a 16-6 run and
tying the game on a layup by forward Serge Ibaka with 33 seconds
left -- setting the stage for a run of big shots.
Morris put the Suns up 109-106 with a three-point play, but
Westbrook matched it with a three-point play off a driving layup
with 13.4 seconds to go. Morris couldn't get off a shot on the Suns'
final play, and the game went to overtime.
"We started off the game so slow which was unfortunate," Westbrook
said. "They made some shots and we got lazy defensively. But we kept
fighting all game and gave ourselves a chance to win at the end."
NOTES: Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said the national explosion
of G Russell Westbrook this season is just a continuation of what he
has seen for seven years. "It's not new to me. He's getting a lot of
great publicity now, but he's led us in a lot of key areas," Brooks
said. ... Suns G Brandon Knight, who scored 15 points Thursday, is
averaging 16.8 points and 4.5 assists in his first four games with
Phoenix. ... The Thunder averaged 114 points and allowed 98.4 points
over their seven-game winning streak. ... Suns F P.J. Tucker scored
in double figures for the sixth consecutive game, a career high.
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