Quick Hitters
Westbrook tripledouble keys OKC in 3OT thriller vs. 76ers
PHILADELPHIA — Russell Westbrook said goodbye to a threeovertime thriller and trolled Joel Embiid with a smile and a wave.
“I was telling him, ‘Go home,’” Westbrook said.
Embiid irked Westbrook earlier in the game when the 76ers’ social media star waved goodbye toward the crowd once Oklahoma City center Steven Adams fouled out. Westbrook got the last laugh, and capped his triple-double, 52-minute effort with the final assist of the game, and the Thunder pulled out a 119-117 victory on Friday night.
The early contender for NBA game of the year was led by perhaps the game of Embiid’s career. Embiid scored 34 points in 49 minutes with an achy back, saved the game in the first overtime with a block on Westbrook and trash talked Carmelo Anthony.
He waved his arms and exhorted the crowd to get louder with each chant of “Trust the Process!”
“I’m not about to get in a backand-forth with him,” Westbrook said. “I’m not about to give him my energy.”
Westbrook had an off night from the floor (10 of 33; missed a driving dunk at the end of regulation), yet finished with 27 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists. He even saved Andre Roberson from goat status in the third OT. Roberson failed to even look at the basket and then missed a layup in a stunning sequence to close the second OT, then earned redemption when Westbrook fed him for the winner with 10 seconds left in the game.
“Just trusting it,” Westbrook said.
It’s a twist on the Sixers catchphrase popularized during Embiid’s absence over his first two seasons with injuries.
Embiid, Philly’s franchise center, grabbed his lower back when he took a hard foul on a drive to the basket in the fourth quarter. Embiid grimaced during timeouts on the bench and trudged into position a few times.
Eight days after losing to San Luis for the first time since the last game of the 2015-16 season, the Gila Ridge boys basketball team, again, was defeated by an in-town opponent it held a recent stranglehold over.
Kofa won, 66-56, on Friday at Gila Ridge in its first win against the Hawks since Dec. 5, 2014, thanks to a breakout, 20-point game from senior Mike Brenes. In addition to Brenes’ big night, Kofa coach Jeff Frazine was most excited for his two long-time starters and leaders.
“I’m just happy for the seniors,” Kofa coach Jeff Frazine said. “(Chuy Ortiz and Jeremy Smith) have been on varsity for three years, and this is their first win on this floor. I’m happy that they got to experience that this year.”
Seven of Brenes’ points came on two big plays; the first was a buzzer-beating 3-pointer right before halftime, and the second was a four-point play that gave Kofa (2-2 AIA) a 52-44 lead to open the fourth quarter.
“We view Mike as a defensive guy most of the time,” Frazine said. “We had some guys that were missing some shots, and Mike was able to pick up the slack for that. We need guys to do that. We understand that when you have two guys that carry most of your scoring load, defenses are going to adjust and take people away, and other people are going to have to take advantage of those opportunities.” Through seven overall games this year, Smith and Ortiz led Kofa with 13.9 and 13.4 points per game, respectively. Brenes averaged 4.8.
“(Brenes) played hard,” Gila Ridge coach Joe Daily said. “We didn’t want Chuy and we didn’t want Jeremy to beat us. So we forced someone else to, and he beat us.”
Zac Miller (11 points, seven rebounds) and Tayzon Johnson (10 points, five rebounds) also scored in dou-