Westbrook erupts against Wizards
When he gets a step and builds a head of steam, there’s no catching Russell Westbrook.
The Wizards tried on Thursday and couldn’t derail the Thunder’s locomotive, chipping away at an Oklahoma City lead before Westbrook’s 46 points helped his team pull away for a 121-112 win at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Carmelo Anthony could have told Washington what it was up against.
Sometimes when Westbrook pushes the pedal, Anthony’s just fine tapping the brakes.
“If he’s ahead of the ball and it’s him and somebody else, he can have it,” Anthony said. “I’m not running with him. Sometimes it’s hard to keep
up with him, especially when he gets it going like that and he’s coming full speed.”
It was hard for Washington on Thursday.
On a night when the Thunder led by 19 points in the first half and the Wizards whittled that cushion to tie the game in the third quarter — a night when, despite 121 points, coach Billy Donovan said “I didn’t think our offense was great” — Westbrook was at his high-octane best.
His season-high 46 points came on 19-of-29 shooting. He took only three 3-pointers, making one. He got to the foul line 10 times and made seven.
With Anthony (13 points) and Paul George (18) combining to shoot 10 for 30
“I just read the game, honestly, like I always have,” Westbrook said. “Read the game. If it’s time for me to take over, that’s what I’ll do.”
That’s what he did against Washington, particularly in a scorching fourth quarter in which the Thunder outscored the Wizards 39-38.
Washington trailed by seven when Westbrook re-entered the game, with 9:12 to play in the fourth, but in a blink the Thunder lead was down to 88-85, and Westbrook went to work.
He sank a 20-foot jumper, then threw down a dunk with 7:58 to play that put OKC in front 92-85.
With Bradley Beal matching him almost point for point — Beal poured in 41 points on 15-for-26 shooting, making 6 of 11 3-pointers — Westbrook kept pace by pushing it.
Down the stretch, the Wizards went small, and Westbrook came up big.
With Washington trying to spread the floor on offense to create problems for Thunder center Steven Adams, it had little rim protection at the other end, and Westbrook feasted, attacking the rim in transition and off the dribble.
After the Wizards cut the lead to three, the Thunder outscored them 33-27, and Westbrook had three layups and three dunks in that span. When Washington ran a trap, he split it for a layup. When the Wizards tried it again, he found Anthony for a two-handed dunk, one of Westbrook’s six assists.
“When he’s getting downhill like that, it opens up free throws, it opens up offensive rebounds, it opens up 3-point shots,” Donovan said. “It certainly opens up layups.”
And it taxes opposing defenses.
Westbrook is averaging 27.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 10.3 assists since Dec. 1, shooting 46.7 percent from the floor. The Thunder is 20-8 in that span, including 15-0 when its five starters — Westbrook, Anthony, George, Adams and Andre Roberson — are healthy and in the lineup.
It’s been Westbrook’s show of late, and Anthony admitted that “sometimes you get caught staring a little bit.” On Thursday, the show was worth catching, but there was no catching up to Westbrook.
“It’s a beauty to watch, especially when it’s working, when it’s clicking,” Anthony said. “Especially now when we’re winning games.”