Westbrook leads the way as Thunder book playoff spot
Russell Westbrook’s 25th tripledouble of the season has clinched an NBA playoff spot for Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Last season’s league MVP proved too much for the Miami Heat to handle as the Thunder secured a vital 115-93 comeback road victory at American Airlines Arena to secure a place in the post-season. It now remains to be seen, with just their regular season finale against the lowly Memphis Grizzlies to come at home on Thursday, where OKC will finish up in an impossibly tight Western Conference.
With their 21st road victory of the season, the Thunder improve to 47-34 as they jostle for what could be a finish from anywhere between fourth and eighth.
As ever, Westbrook’s contribution was vital for OKC as he tallied 23 points, a season-high 18 rebounds and 13 assists. He now needs 16 rebounds against the Grizzlies to average a tripledouble for the second straight season.
The mercurial point guard had his triple-double up before the end of the third quarter – the 34th time in his career he has achieved that – as the Thunder came back from an 18-point deficit in the opening quarter to secure the runaway victory.
Westbrook was eight of 21 from the floor and two of five from deep and had six turnovers as he fuelled the OKC comeback with his relentless drive and determination.
Another standout display from Paul George helped, too, as the All-star wing man knocked down five triples among a gamehigh 27-point haul. It’s a good sign as he finds his stroke with the playoffs looming.
‘‘We played defence, and we played really hard,’’ said George afterwards. ‘‘I thought we just played team basketball and that’s going to win most nights.
‘‘It feels great [to make the playoffs]. We’ve got one more to go, but we’re heading in the right direction. We’ve got one to close it out at home and then get ready for these playoffs.’’
The Thunder failed to make a bucket for the first seven minutes as they trailed 16-1 early and then 23-5. But they got the deficit back to a half-dozen (27-21) at the end of one and three (52-49) by halftime as their offence finally clicked into gear.
The Heat still led by five (81-76) at the end of the third term, before the Thunder breezed to victory with a 39-12 final quarter.
Carmelo Anthony added 11 points (4/11 FG) and five rebounds for OKC, while Jerami Grant continued his impressive late-season form to notch 17 points (4/6 FG) and five boards in 21 minutes off the bench.
Adams had his second singlefigure offensive night in the last three games as he finished with just seven points (3/6 FG), three rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block in 32 minutes.
The Heat were paced by 18 points from Josh Richardson and 16 from centre Hassan Whiteside.