All eyes were on Russell Westbrook on Sunday, April 9, as he lead an already playoff-bound Oklahoma City Thunder team into Denver with the sporting world watching to see if he'd finally get the 10 or more points, rebounds, and assists totals needed to assume the record for the most triple-doubles in an NBA season. And the MVP favorite didn't disappoint, scoring 50 points, and stacking 16 rebounds and 10 assists to help the Thunder to a thrilling 106-105 comeback win at the Pepsi Center.
Westbrook appeared to have no problem producing against the Nuggets defense, putting up 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in the first half alone. But it wasn't enough to tilt the game in OKC's favor, as Denver maintained a commanding lead headed into the 4th quarter. But Westbrook was game. With 4:17 remaining on the clock he kicked a pass off to Semaj Christon whose 3-point shot gave Russell his 10th assist of the game, thereby completing his record 42nd triple-double of the season. The Denver crowd stood to its feet to acknowledge the feat, which had belonged solely to Oscar Robertson for the past 55 years.
From that point on Westbrook took the game into his own hands, scoring the final 15 Thunder points, and capping the classic rally with a quick 3-point shot off of the inbound, to beat the clock down to the buzzer. The game was an all around statement for Westbrook, who has helped OKC to a 32-9 record when he's registered a triple-double this year; a stat which ought to help his argument for the league's Most Valuable Player.
Source: espn.com
