Westbrook thunders for Oklahoma
Los Angeles, Dec. 28: The seemingly unstoppable Russell Westbrook produced his 15th triple-double of the season on Tuesday to propel the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 106-94 NBA victory over the Heat in Miami.
Westbrook’s 52nd career triple-double was his 30th of 2016 — a total spanning the latter part of last season.
He joined Oscar Robertson as the only players to notch 30 triple-doubles in a calendar year — furthering his chances of matching Robertson’s 1961-62 feat of averaging a triple-double over an entire season.
“He’s a unique player,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said of Westbrook, who reeled in a rebound to wrap up a triple-double with 6:40 remaining in the third quarter.
He finished with 29 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists.
“When you see him going up above guys to get rebounds, it’s really remarkable,” added Donovan, who noted that Westbrook’s rebounds, all of them on the defensive end, ignited the Thunder’s offense.
Oklahoma City had a 16-4 advantage in fast break points and outscored Miami 58-32 in the paint.
Westbrook connected on 11 of 22 shots from the floor and seven of 10 from the free throw line.
Rockets bear down on Mavericks
In a testy all-Texas tussle, the Houston Rockets used a 16-0 scoring run in the second quarter to take control en route to a 123-107 victory over the Mavericks in Dallas.
With the win, the Rockets have swept all four of their regular-season games against the Mavericks for the first time since the 199798 campaign.