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Westbrook dominates again, but Blazers come back to top Thunder

Feb 27, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) reacts after making a basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter at the Moda Center. (Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports)
Feb 27, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) reacts after making a basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter at the Moda Center. (Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports)

Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook is the biggest story in the NBA right now, a player contributing at an MVP level and impressing with the sheer volume of his production even when he's not particularly efficient. He is currently the definition of a must-watch player.

Westbrook notched his third-straight triple-double in Friday night's road game against the Portland Trail Blazers, but for the second game in a row he could not lead his team to a win. The Blazers came back from a 13-point fourth-quarter to deficit to top the Thunder 115-112, dropping OKC to just a half-game ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans for the final playoff spot in the West.

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Not surprisingly, Westbrook factored heavily during the finish. With six seconds remaining, Arron Afflalo knocked down two free throws to give Portland a 113-110 lead. The Blazers attempted to foul Westbrook to avoid a game-tying three, but Wesley Matthews fouled him in the act of shooting.

That foul quickly became less important, because Westbrook missed the first. He hit the second, but the third would presumably require him to miss with less than two seconds on the clock and the Thunder without a timeout to advance the ball. Westbrook made the free throw — it wasn't clear if he was trying to — but in attempting to rebound a potential miss he may have injured himself. After falling to the ground, Westbrook moved to get up as the Blazers inbounded but was hit by teammate Andre Roberson's knee.

Here's a look at the full sequence:

The result was not pretty:

Yes, that's a dent, not a cut. Head coach Scott Brooks did not have an update on his condition for reporters after the game, but the Thunder will surely monitor his status ahead of Sunday's visit to the Los Angeles Lakers.

It's hard to predict what OKC will do if he's unavailable. Westbrook has been a dominant force in the absence of the injured Kevin Durant, putting up unreal stat lines that somehow doesn't communicate the fury of his performances. He finished with 40 points (14-of-32 FG), 13 rebounds, and 11 assists, becoming the first player to post three consecutive triple-doubles since LeBron James in 2010. As noted by Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman, this was the third of his five triple-doubles this season to come before the start of the fourth quarter. While Westbrook did not make all the necessary plays in the final seconds, it would be crazy to blame him for this loss. He did everything he could against one of the best teams in the league.

Portland didn't have any single player make such a huge impact, but their two All-Stars were fantastic. Damian Lillard (10-of-22 FG) and LaMarcus Aldridge (10-of-23 FG) each scored 29 points, with the latter adding 16 boards and five assists in a tremendous all-around performance. Afflalo was also great with 18 points on just six field goal attempts, providing the kind of spark off the bench that the Blazers lacked before trading for him at the deadline.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!