Westbrook scores 30 as Thunder top Rockets 105-103

Houston’s James Harden was impressed. Only Oscar Robertson has done that over the course of a full season.

National Basketball Association scoring leader DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 34 points, and Kyle Lowry had 24.

While there are certainly others in the conversation, there’s not really a clear answer.

Westbrook is putting up surreal numbers-32.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.9 assists per game-but the Thunder are 6-5 and have lost four in a row.

Victor Oladipo also came up big for OKC with a season-high 29 points, 10 boards and five assists. Houston’s starting guards, Harden and Gordon, shot a combined 9 for 36. Not Westbrook, who admitted that he plays on his phone while his teammates watch game film. “We cut the lead to four or five a couple times, and it just felt like we either had a bad possession, had a turnover, and then that lead went to eight or nine points, having to fight kind of uphill to claw back and try to win the game, and it was too little too late”.

“We didn’t play well”, Harden said.

His performance may not have lived up to expectation, but that is the first we can say that about “The Beard” this season. Harden’s touches average 5.7 seconds. Tyler Ennis at 1.7 minutes per game. Harden went for 33 although this game will be considerably more hard. The Thunder accounted for all nine points scored between the 6:26 mark and the final few seconds of regulation, and rookie wing Alex Abrines’s questionable decision to attempt a lay-up with five seconds left almost gave the Rockets the ball back with a chance to tie.

When wondering about the alternate universe in which Harden remained with the Thunder, it’s fair to question the viability of the whole scenario.

Houston got the ball with a one minutes on the clock. He pitched it back to Westbrook, who identified a streaking Adams. Serge Ibaka scored 31 points and made the game-winner for Orlando on Sunday. The ball isn’t just sticking with Harden and Westbrook in ways that they, themselves, haven’t before matched. He did not get to the free throw line at all, though he did not need to. His true shooting percentage – which takes into account 3s and FT – is almost 100 points higher.

These wins are especially crucial when you have an 11-point fourth quarter lead on the road and James Harden hasn’t even played that well. “He needs to get credit for what he’s been doing defensively all year”.