Thompson, Westbrook lead way on a memorable Monday
Spurs now 13-0 in road games
Plenty of points for Klay Thompson. Plenty of everything, as usual, for Russell Westbrook.
On a momentous night in the NBA, Thompson had the biggest game with a career-high 60 points and Westbrook continued his sensational season with a sixth straight triple-double.
An 11-game schedule stole the show Monday on a night that’s long belonged to the NFL. There were so many mesmerizing performances that even otherwise great ones weren’t good enough to get much notice.
Thompson’s topped them all, with a 40-point first half in under 19 minutes of Golden State’s 142-106 victory over Indiana.
“That’s a feat that I put money on will probably never be touched ever again in the history of basketball,” teammate Stephen Curry said.
Marc Gasol had a tripledouble and James Harden wasn’t far off, but Westbrook does that every night. He had 32 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in Oklahoma City’s 102-99 victory at Atlanta, giving him the NBA’s longest streak of triple-doubles since Michael Jordan had seven in a row in 1989.
“Obviously, the league hasn’t seen something like this in a long, long time,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said.
A look at some other noteworthy developments around the league:
KLAY’S PLAY: Thompson, who already owns the NBA record with 37 points in a quarter, might have scored many more in this one if the Warriors weren’t so explosive. He checked out after just 29 minutes and less than three quarters and thought something like 80 could’ve been in play if he could’ve stayed on the floor.
“Maybe. I think I could
have, maybe one day I’ll have the opportunity,” he said. “But 60 in 29 minutes is not too bad.”
BEST IN THE WEST: Westbrook, who is averaging a triple-double, was chosen Western Conference player of the week Monday and is probably the leader in the race for the NBA’s biggest individual prize, the MVP. He has 11 triple-doubles in 22 games, has led the Thunder to six straight wins and has been so good that he’s overshadowing guys like Harden and Kevin Durant, who are having MVP-caliber seasons themselves.
“Just think about what Russell is doing and then there’s two, three other guys who are playing great but because of what Russell is doing … the other guys, you really haven’t paid attention to,” Hall of Famer Magic Johnson said earlier Monday. Tuesday’s games
SPURS 105, TIMBERWOLVES 91: In Minneapolis, Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points and the San Antonio Spurs improved to 13-0 on the road this season.
Leonard hit 11 of 15 shots after not scoring at all in the first quarter and Patty Mills scored 15 points off the bench for the Spurs (184), who played without Tony Parker after he bruised his left knee against Milwaukee on Wednesday night. San Antonio overcame a slow start to shoot 52.7 percent.
“Now I have game experience under my belt,” Leonard said. “That’s what you need to get better, get comfortable — see the ball go through the net in the game.”
The Spurs moved past the 1969-70 New York Knicks to take sole possession of the second-best road start to begin a season in NBA history. The Golden State Warriors started 14-0 last year.
“Maybe there’s just a little extra focus when we go into someone else’s arena,” Mills said.
Zach LaVine scored 25 points for the Timberwolves. Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 points and 14 rebounds, but shot just 3 of 16.
“You have to eliminate all the ways in which you beat yourself first,” Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said. “So we have to understand that, we have to improve in that area.” JAZZ 112, SUNS 105: In Salt Lake City, Gordon Hayward scored 28 points and Utah held on for their seventh win in eight games.
Rudy Gobert scored a career-high 22 points and had 11 rebounds and blocked four shots for the Jazz, who recovered after the Suns erased their big lead to tie it at 103. KNICKS 114, HEAT 103: In Miami, Carmelo Anthony matched a season high with 35 points, and New York beat Miami for its fourth straight victory.
“Any time you can put together some wins you feel confident, you feel comfortable, you feel like you’re heading in the right direction, and I really feel we’re doing that,” Anthony said. MAGIC 124, WIZARDS 116: In Washington, Elfrid Payton scored 22 of his career-high 25 points in the first half and Orlando overcame John Wall’s 52-point performance to beat Washington. PISTONS 102, BULLS 91: In Auburn Hills, Mich., Tobias Harris scored 22 points and Detroit beat Chicago. GRIZZLIES 96, 76ERS 91: In Memphis, Tenn., Marc Gasol had 26 points and 12 rebounds, and Memphis finally put away Philadelphia.