Triple-double tracker: Westbrook goes for four in a row

After being down by as many as sixteen points, the Wizards fought back and led the Thunder by three with less than ten seconds in the game. He averaged 23.5 points, 9.3 assists (tied for third in the NBA) and 8.1 rebounds. The Thunder picked up stops in the final three minutes to engineer the comeback. If Beal hadn’t collapsed at the end, the Wizards would’ve gotten a win.

UP NEXT Lakers: Play another back-to-back when they visit Toronto on Friday night and Memphis on Saturday night. He shot seven out of 13 from beyond the arc. Brooks coached the Thunder for seven years and led them to the Western Conference Finals three times and the NBA Finals once.

Fred Katz is the Thunder beat writer for the Norman Transcript and CNHI Oklahoma as well as the host of the Locked on Thunder podcast. Russell Westbrook of the Thunder led the game in scoring with 35 points on 12 for 35 shooting. He is on a roll and proving worthy for the MVP award.

The 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo did it five times last season after coach Jason Kidd moved him to the point guard spot.

Russell’s domination across all statistics only increases when considering the slower pace of play in modern-day National Basketball Association action, highlighted by the Thunder’s 33-seconds-per-shot average compared to the Robertson-led Bucks’ average of 27 seconds per shot.

Carmelo Anthony capped a quiet night with a game-winning 18-footer over Andrew Wiggins with 2.3 seconds to play, helping the Knicks avoid what would have been an epic collapse in the fourth quarter.

The Knicks were outrebounded 63-47 and their second leading rebounder was Rose with 7. But Oladipo knocked in a 3-pointer and then scored on a fastbreak dunk as the Thunder closed to within one point. Russell Westbrook isn’t showing any signs of slowing down as he has already raised his averages into triple-doubles: 30.9 PPG, 11.3 APG and 10.3RPG. The most recent tech came in even more unusual fashion than normal, as Markieff Morris was T’d up for something he did while sitting on the bench.

Bradley Beal’s hot shooting will be a commodity for the Wizards every night. They all know that.

Other Thunder players, including Kiwi Steven Adams, have proven their worth since the playoffs last season while new player, Victor Oladipo, continues to learn the systems set down by coach Billy Donovan.

It would be overly simplistic and reductive to say that Westbrook won this game by himself.

Right now, there are no official reports yet if the Thunder are interested in engaging in a trade deal with the Wizards for Porter. “A lot of things happen in order to win one and (I’m) fortunate we were there and able to (try to) win one”. That decision may have proved to be the Wizards’ undoing, as it gave Westbrook more driving lanes and rebounding opportunities, but if nothing else, it was good to see him get some more experience in those situations that he can hopefully learn from as he develops.