Westbrook's fourth straight triple-double carries Thunder past
Wizards
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[December 01, 2016]
OKLAHOMA CITY -- If there is one
person in the NBA who knows what a motivated Russell Westbrook can
do, it's Scott Brooks. The Washington Wizards coach was the lead man
in Oklahoma City for seven years before being fired in 2015.
So as much as he marveled at the recent triple-double streak
Westbrook has been on, when the two met up Friday, he wanted to do
everything possible to make sure Westbrook didn't leave with the
victory.
Through three and half quarters, it looked like Brooks was going to
do just that. But that is when Westbrook took over and led the
Thunder to a 126-115 overtime victory over the Washington Wizards
Wednesday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
"That's what makes Scotty such a great coach," Westbrook said of
Brooks. "He's competitive. He's a little fireball himself. He knows
how I am."
Westbrook posted 35 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists to garner his
ninth triple-double of the season and his fourth in a row. Victor
Oladipo added 25 points on 10 of 16 shooting. Enes Kanter came off
the bench to score 14 points as Oklahoma City improved to 12-8.
"I thought we did a good job until overtime on Westbrook," Brooks
said. "He's hard to stop. he's a terrific basketball player playing
at a high level."
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Bradley Beal posted 31 points on 10 of 21 shooting for the Wizards.
Markieff Morris tallied 19 points and seven rebounds. John Wall had
a double-double with 15 points and 15 assists as Washington fell to
6-11.
With 5:25 left in the game, Beal drained a 3-pointer to put the
Wizards up 97-90. Two possessions later, Steven Adams was fouled but
he missed both free throws.
Morris attempted to hammer a dunk down on Jerami Grant. However,
Grant fouled him to stop the dunk and sent him to the free-throw
line. But Morris also missed both free throws.
Westbrook, who was having a horrid shooting night up to that point,
finally scored in the fourth by leaping over Morris for a rebound
and tipping in the shot.
"You have to want it more than the other person," Westbrook said.
"Plain and simple for me. Every play matters. Regardless of what is
going on in the game you can always impact the game in different
ways. That's the type of player I am."
After Morris hit a pair of free throws, Oklahoma City's Andre
Roberson drilled a 3-pointer and the lead was cut to 99-95 with 3:02
left in the fourth.
Otto Porter scored out of a timeout. But Oladipo knocked in a
3-pointer and then scored on a fastbreak dunk as the Thunder closed
to within one point.
Morris and Westbrook exchanged layups before Wall scored to give
Washington a 105-102 advantage.
After Westbrook missed a drive to the basket, the Wizards had two
shots to make it a two-possession game. They missed and the Thunder
got the rebound with 17.6 seconds on the clock.
Oklahoma City got the ball to Westbrook, who dribbled around the
perimeter before raising up for a long game-tying 3-pointer with 7.6
seconds left. Porter had a chance to end the game, but his
buzzer-beating attempt bounced out of the rim and sent the contest
into overtime.
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"We had a chance," Brook said. "Then he got free and he hit a tough
three. He makes tough shots."
Westbrook scored the first five points in overtime before Oladipo
hit a 3-pointer with 3:48 left to give Oklahoma City a 113-105 lead.
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![](../images/120116pics/sports67.jpg)
Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) drives to the basket between
Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) and Washington Wizards guard
Marcus Thornton (15) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy
Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
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The Wizards never seemed to recover from the fourth-quarter
collapse. They scored only two points in the first three minutes of
the overtime. That was enough for the Thunder to close out the game.
Westbrook scored 14 of his game-high 35 in the overtime period to
ensure the Thunder's win streak extends to four games. During the
win streak, Westbrook is averaging 28.8 points, 14.0 rebounds and
14.3 assists.
"He's doing an amazing job," Kanter said of Westbrook's performance.
"He's finding the open man, making his teammates better. Leading
this team really well."
Westbrook picked up four rebounds in the opening quarter. That
guaranteed he would head into December averaging a triple-double.
It was Beal who helped the Wizards whittle the Thunder lead down. He
matched Oladipo's 14 points with 12 of his own in the half. But
Oklahoma City still held a 60-53 advantage at halftime.
As hot as Washington was to end the first half was equal to how cold
they were to start the second. But the Thunder didn't take advantage
of the cold shooting and led by nine midway through the quarter.
That is when the Wizards went on a run and tied the game at 84-84
heading into the fourth quarter. Despite his poor shooting up until
then, Westbrook stayed on the attack knowing he could still help his
team win.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Dec/01/images/ads/current/st_claras_lda_082114.png)
"Honestly, it's never stop believing into yourself," Westbrook said.
"Regardless if I miss a shot, there are other ways I can impact the
game. I try to find a way to insert myself throughout the game."
NOTES: Washington coach Scott Brooks was the skipper in Oklahoma
City for seven years with both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on
the roster. In his return to Oklahoma City Wednesday he was asked
about the relationship between his Durant and Westbrook. "It doesn't
make me feel good," Brooks said. "As a coach of the team, when
you're coaching a group of athletic, competitive-minded players,
you're gonna have arguments, you're gonna have disagreements, but
you have to be able to keep the group together. I thought the staff
did a great job of doing that with a lot of people trying to
separate them." ... Despite being a team that gets a lot of shots
near the rim, the Thunder are but 16th in the NBA in free-throw
attempts. "I think the more you are around the basket, I think the
more you will get fouled," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said.
"Sometime guys avoid that kind of contact. They try to force you to
take shots over length."
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