OKLAHOMA CITY — About midway through the fourth quarter Thursday night, Russell Westbrook popped off the Oklahoma City Thunder’s bench and jogged to the scorekeeper’s table to check back in. As Westbrook unraveled the towel around his neck and took off the shooting shirt over his jersey, a fan a few rows back stood up.
“Here he comes!”
Westbrook returned to the court with OKC up by five, himself two assists from a 26th triple-double this season and eight difficult minutes left to hang on against the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers. Westbrook has evolved into one of the league’s top clutch-time players, but even with a slim cushion, finishing the job against LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love was a lot to ask.
But as he has been, Westbrook was up for the challenge. He splashed three straight jumpers from the left elbow with five minutes left, then set up Steven Adams for a layup and Victor Oladipo for a layup — more on that in a second — to slam the door shut. The assist to Oladipo put away Westbrook’s triple-double, tying him with Oscar Robertson for third-most ever in a season.
Westbrook: 29 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. Thunder 118, Cavs 109.
“My feeling is as a coach is to just try to get him to areas on the floor in space and obviously let him make decisions,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “I’ve always said this about Russell: He’s a smart, cerebral player and a really bright player. He’s always studying the game.”
Westbrook almost missed out on his triple-double assist, with Oladipo taking his pass on a two-on-none fast break and electing to try to throw down an emphatic 360 dunk. Instead, like he stepped on a banana peel or something, Oladipo didn’t get the necessary lift and it turned into a 360 finger-roll layup (that he still nearly missed). It put the Thunder up 10 with two minutes to go, but a miss could’ve proved costly.
“I would just say go talk to Steven Adams about the layup,” Donovan said of how he felt about it. “That would be the guy I would definitely talk to.”
Adams was visibly upset on the court by Oladipo’s showboating, talking postgame about the need to just take the two points.
“When it happened I was just like, ‘Oooooh, ooh my god, my child,'” Adams said, grabbing at his chest. “I’m happy it went in, but …”
The “but” lingered as Adams laughed off the play, although clearly not thrilled with it still. Oladipo, whether intentionally or not, answered a question about the play by talking about a different one, in which e drilled a 3-pointer set up by Westbrook with 1:07 left.
It was an odd evening in OKC, first with the uncertainty around whether the Cavs’ Big Three would even play. But about 90 minutes before tipoff Cavs coach Tyronn Lue announced they most likely would. The game swung from the Thunder being an 11-point favorite to the Cavs suddenly favored. The Thunder went from having a layup in front of them, to facing the real Cavaliers. Still, it somehow felt like an appetizer, with the feeling around the arena being, “Let’s just get this one out of the way, OK?” It’s maybe the Thunder’s best win of the season, and another flashy MVP statement for Westbrook, but it only served to clear the path for Saturday.
The Thunder are now just about 48 hours away from hosting Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors, the first trip back to Oklahoma City for their former favorite son.
Asked what kind of atmosphere he expects, Westbrook said, “Same one we have every night.”
Then asked if he cares how the crowd responds, whether cheers, boos or something in between, Westbrook was noncommittal.
Check out the team site for more game coverage
Check out the team site for more game coverage
“It’s kind of up to them. It’s up to them what they want to do,” Westbrook said. “Obviously Kevin has done a lot for Oklahoma City and our team while he was here, so it’s kind of up to them. It doesn’t really matter to me one way or the other. It’s a basketball game and we have to go out and compete.”
In many ways, the Thunder will be relieved to put Saturday’s shenanigans behind them and move on with their season. They’re hunting playoff seeding, and Thursday’s win is a big boost. While they have a few wins over good teams, getting one against one of the elites like the Cavs is some solid self-validation.
They have a chance at a little more of it on Saturday, but that’s not necessarily what Westbrook and the Thunder will be seeking. It’s a game that’s as much about the build-up as it is about the scoreboard. The stage is set, and the Thunder now wait for Kevin Durant to arrive.
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