Russell Westbrook ties Michael Jordan’s 7-game triple-double streak
Russell Westbrook notched his seventh straight triple-double Friday night, tying Michael Jordan’s streak from 1989.
With 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists Friday night, Russell Westbrook tied the longest triple-double streak in the NBA over the last 27 years.
In a prime-time ESPN matchup against the Houston Rockets and his old teammate James Harden, Westbrook’s seventh straight triple-double tied Michael Jordan’s seven-game triple-double streak from 1989.
Though the Oklahoma City Thunder were unable to secure their seventh straight win, Russ’ individual streak remains intact. He’d probably rather have the W though, especially after his arch-nemesis Patrick Beverley locked him down on a pivotal fourth quarter possession.
With the Thunder trailing by one, Russ was forced to settle for a contested step-back three-pointer with six seconds left. It was an airball, the Rockets secured the rebound, Trevor Ariza made two free throws and the Thunder were unable to get a clean look on their final possession to force overtime.
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Still, even with the Thunder’s six-game win streak over, Westbrook’s seventh straight triple-double is a remarkable accomplishment. If he were out here putting up Rajon Rondo-esque 12-11-10 triple-doubles, it’d be easy to say the streak might be overrated.
But since the Thunder are 6-1 during that seven-game span, with Westbrook averaging a monstrous 28.9 points, 13.6 rebounds and 13.0 assists per game, it’s kind of hard to accuse him of putting up empty numbers on a crappy team.
So what’s next for Russ?
As you can see, Westbrook has tied Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson with seven straight triple-doubles, leaving him just two shy of tying Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA record of nine.
Westbrook already has 12 triple-doubles on the season in just 23 games. He’s currently averaging 30.9 points, 11.3 assists and 10.8 rebounds per game, making him the first and only player since the Big O to be averaging a triple-double in December.
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Russ has shot above 40 percent from the field in only two games during his seven-game streak, and he’s averaging 6.6 turnovers per game during that span. But rather than nitpick his game as we’ve grown so accustomed to doing, it’s long past time to acknowledge Westbrook as an exemplary talent that we should appreciate before he’s gone.