Russell Westbrook hits 3-pointer from Tulsa

Late in the fourth quarter with the Oklahoma City Thunder down four, Russell Westbrook hit a three from Tulsa, Oklahoma to bring them within one.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are fighting for their playoff lives, down 2-1 in this best-of-seven series against the Houston Rockets.

The Thunder dropped a pair on the road, before bouncing back at home against the Rockets. For much of Game 4, the Thunder were in control, but the Rockets stayed within striking distance.

With the Rockets up four and less than 20 seconds to go, Thunder center Steven Adams was on the free throw line. After missing the second free throw, Adams got his own miss and threw a pass back to Westbrook in one motion.

“Why Not” Westbrook fired away from distance, despite shooting 37.5 percent from three. And surprise, surprise, Westbrook nailed the three, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Westbrook’s heroics were not enough as the Rockets took Game 4 and control of the series. The MVP-favorite had 35 points, on 10-of-28 shooting, to go along with 14 rebounds and 14 assists.

The leader of the Thunder had another triple-double in these playoffs, but failed to close the deal. Oklahoma City was up by four at halftime and at the end of three quarters, but gave up 40 in the final frame.

Houston will head back home, up 3-1 in this series, looking to close the Oklahoma City Thunder out. James Harden didn’t look particularly special tonight, scoring only 16 points, to go with seven rebounds, eight assists and seven turnovers.

However, huge contributions from Nene, Lou Williams and Eric Gordon carried the Rockets to a Game 4 victory.

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The Houston-Oklahoma City series will resume on Tuesday, where Harden and the Rockets will look to end Westbrook’s season.