Westbrook keys game-changing run, logs 26th triple-double as Thunder beat Cavs
Before he could move on to Saturday’s much-anticipated showdown with the Golden State Warriors, and former Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant’s first trip back to the arena he called home for eight seasons, Russell Westbrook had to deal with the small problem of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers. After trading runs and highlight-reel haymakers, with just under six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Cavs and Thunder were knotted at 99, the game hanging in the balance for whichever team could muster enough energy for a strong closing kick.
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As you might have heard, energy’s something of a specialty for your man Russ.
In the span of 2 1/2 minutes, the Thunder turned a tie game into a double-digit lead, ripping off a 12-2 run during which their All-Star point guard scored or assisted on every bucket. Westbrook and center Steven Adams went to work on Irving in the pick-and-roll for a pair of midrange jumpers. After Kyrie answered by blowing past his opposite number to the rim for a layup, Russ came right back with a contorting off-balance jumper that found the bottom of the net; after a Jerami Grant block snuffed out a Tristan Thompson drive and sent the Thunder out in transition, Westbrook and Adams went back to the high-screen well, plastering Irving and giving Russ enough room for another pull-up to make it 107-101, Thunder, and force a Cavalier timeout.
Westbrook just kept attacking after the break. He bodied up LeBron on the left block and holding his ground well enough to force the four-time MVP into a turnaround fadeaway jumper that came up short, then again broke down Irving and the Cavs defense off the high screen before dumping the ball off to Adams for a short floater that pushed the lead to eight.
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After an Adams block on a Kyrie drive, Westbrook dropped the ball off to Victor Oladipo for a 360-degree finger-roll layup on the fast break — a bit of ill-advised-until-it-goes-in showboating that Adams later said left him saying, “Ooooh my god! Ooooh my god, my child!” — that put Oklahoma City up by 10, 111-101, with 2:08 remaining, all but closing the door on a Cavaliers team that looked to have run out of gas in the second game of a back-to-back at the end of a four-game road trip that included an overtime thriller in D.C. on Monday night.
A dagger 3-pointer by Oladipo and some free throws later, Oklahoma City had finished off a 118-109 win over the defending champs and Westbrook had put the finishing touches on his staggering 26th triple-double of the season, posting 29 points on 11-for-27 shooting, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, four steals and seven turnovers in 35-plus minutes of work:
While Westbrook has often been a one-man army this season, he had help on Thursday. Oladipo scored 12 of his 23 points in the deciding frame, adding seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. The stalwart Adams added 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting, 13 boards (including nine on the offensive glass), two blocks, a steal and an assist in 39 minutes.
Andre Roberson chipped in eight points, seven rebounds and yeoman’s defensive work against James, helping hold LeBron to 18 points (none of which came in the fourth) on 8-for-19 shooting in 41 minutes. Backup point guard Cameron Payne offered a spark off the bench, scoring 15 points in 12 1/2 minutes for the Thunder, who have now won three of four to improve to 31-23.
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Even with the Cavs on unsteady legs at the end of a four-games-in-six-nights road swing, the Thunder needed all hands on deck to hold Irving, who scored nine of his team-high 28 points in the fourth to keep Cleveland close after Oklahoma City took control late in the third quarter:
Ultimately, though, there was just too much Russ for the Cavs to handle in the deciding six minutes, earning the Thunder their first win over a top-three team this season. They’ll have a chance to get their second on Saturday, when KD comes back to town for what Westbrook refuses to acknowledge as any sort of big deal:
Westbrook asked what kind of atmosphere he expects Saturday: "Same one we have every night."
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) February 10, 2017
I suspect it’ll be a little more juiced up than that, Mr. Westbrook. Call it a hunch.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
