Westbrook, Oladipo Rally Thunder Past Wizards
By Randy Renner, Senior Writer
Russell Westbrook did not get off to a great start but he finished stronger than the entire Washington Wizards team in picking up his fourth straight triple-double while rallying the Thunder to a thrilling 126-115 win in overtime.
Westbrook’s backcourt mate Victor Oladipo started hot and stayed that way, finishing with 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting (5-for-9 on threes).
After starting the game 1-for-8 and missing 21 of his first 28 shots, Westbrook drilled a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime and then outscored the Wizards 14-10 in the extra five minutes to finish with 35 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his ninth triple-double of the season.
“Just never stop believing in yourself,” Westbrook said when asked how he was able to turn a cold shooting night into one that finished blistering hot.
“Regardless if I miss a shot there’s other ways I can impact a game and I try to fins ways to insert myself throughout the game.”
Westbrook’s onslaught spoiled a homecoming of sorts for former Thunder coach Scott Brooks, who now leads the Wizards.
Brooks had wondered what kind of reception he would receive from fans but when he was introduced the sellout crowd rose and saluted him with a loud and long ovation.
“It was nice. It was very nice,” he said after the game. “Made me feel great. It was appreciated. Like I said earlier today, had a lot of great times here. I’m humbled that they did that for me and I appreciate it.”
Brooks and Westbrook have a great appreciation for each other. It was Brooks who gave the starting point guard job to Westbrook a couple of games after taking over for P.J. Carlesimo early in the Thunder’s first season, something for which Westbrook has said he will be forever grateful.
For the first time anyone could remember Westbrook broke his pre-tipoff routine of running straight out onto the court so he could instead jog over to Brooks and give him a hug.
“We have a lot of respect for one another,” Brooks said. “He has done a lot for myself and my family and he means a lot to me. I’ll tell you what I said. I told him my daughter still loves you. Lexi had a crush on him and is disappointed he married Nina, but we are happy for him.”
All five Thunder starters finished in double figures and so did backup center Enes Kanter. OKC shot 48.4 percent overall and 40.0 percent (12-for-30) on 3-pointers.
In overtime though OKC really stepped up, outscoring Washington 21-10 on 71.4 percent shooting while holding the Wizards to just 25.0 percent (3-for-12).
“We’ve been a team that, you know, we’ve gotten behind and we never quit and stop fighting and battling,” said Thunder head coach Billy Donovan. “I think it is a great, great attribute. There are some great things to this game, for us that we can learn from…Overall, I was really pleased with not only Russell but all the guys with the way they tried to battle, fight, compete and get themselves back into the game.”
The Thunder have now won four straight and finished November by playing the most games the team has ever played in a single month.
With the next game not coming until Sunday evening, the Thunder will finally get a chance to take a breath and get back in the gym to work on some things.
“I’m kind of excited to get back to practice here to be quite honest,” Donovan admitted, “because it’s been one game after another and…I think we will have a chance to have two days here where we can really start to evaluate ourselves …and look at areas that we can really improve on.”