Russell Westbrook caps off Thunder comeback with game-winner
Russell Westbrook capped off a double-digit comeback for the Oklahoma City Thunder with a triple-double and the game-winner Monday night.
Do you think Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban believes Russell Westbrook is an MVP candidate now?
In Monday’s matchup between the Mavs and the Oklahoma City Thunder, the league leader in triple-doubles bolstered his MVP case with an incredible fourth quarter flourish to lead his team back from a double-digit deficit.
Westbrook finished the game with 37 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for another triple-double, dropped 16 points in the final period and knocked down the game-winner to give his team the 92-91 victory.
Thunder's Russell Westbrook caps big comeback with game-winning jumper to beat Mavericks (full sequence) pic.twitter.com/cc8uAbJMuZ
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) March 28, 2017
Dallas got a look at a game-winner of its own, since Russ’ go-ahead jumper left 7.1 seconds left on the clock. However, Harrison Barnes’ 3-point attempt wouldn’t fall, giving OKC the unlikely come-from-behind win.
The Thunder closed the game out on a 14-0 run after trailing the Mavs 91-78 with 3:31 to play. Westbrook scored 12 of those 14 points, with a Steven Adams tip-in accounting for the other two.
That monster performance gave Westbrook his league-leading 37th triple-double of the season, and at this rate, it’s all but guaranteed he’s going to finish the 2016-17 campaign as the only player in NBA history other than Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double for an entire season.
Seems pretty MVP-worthy, no?
The victory improved the Thunder’s record to 42-31, good for sixth-best in the West. OKC now trails the Los Angeles Clippers by one game for the No. 5 spot, and the Utah Jazz by two games for the No. 4 spot, with the Jazz still having a game to finish Monday night.
James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James are all having tremendous seasons, but Russ has been undeniably clutch for a less talented team, delivering one virtuoso performance after another while, again, averaging a freaking triple-double.
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If the Thunder can somehow snag the No. 4 seed, and even if they don’t, Westbrook has a strong case for the 2016-17 MVP award. Many believe Harden is the frontrunner right now, but Westbrook is giving him one hell of a run for his money.