PHOTO: AP
OKLAHOMA CITY Russell Westbrook had another triple-double in his return to Oklahoma City, and the Washington Wizards beat the Thunder, 129-109, on Friday night (Saturday, Manila time) for their seventh straight win.
Westbrook finished with 37 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists his fourth straight triple-double and his 14th in 16 games.
It was just the kind of night he routinely had during his 11 seasons with the Thunder. He was league MVP in 2017 and was a two-time scoring champion and perennial All-Star in Oklahoma City before the team traded him two seasons ago.
Westbrook has 174 triple-doubles in his career and is closing in on Oscar Robertson s career record of 181. He has 28 triple-doubles this season.
Tip-Off Time: 6 p.m. CT
Television: Bally Sports Oklahoma
Thunder Status
After returning from an east coast road trip for just one game inside Chesapeake Energy Arena, the Thunder shipped back out to the northeast for a brief back-to-back starting in Philadelphia against one of the top teams in the entire NBA, the 76ers.
While the Thunder has dropped 13-straight, including a game that got away on Friday against the Washington Wizards, there’s a lot of positivity in the locker room about strides that are being made. There’s also a sense of motivation in using each challenge, like the one presented by Philadelphia, as a way to keep sharpening their games and the team’s collective ability to execute.
By Syndicated Content
Apr 25, 2021 12:49 PM
The ineffective Philadelphia 76ers will attempt to snap a four-game losing streak Monday night when they host to the reeling Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Sixers (39-21) were just swept in a pair of road games against the Milwaukee Bucks, including a 132-94 rout on Saturday. Playing without Ben Simmons (illness) for a fourth-consecutive game and then having Joel Embiid (shoulder) scratched shortly before tipoff was too much to overcome.
As both players work toward better health, coach Doc Rivers has started to turn his focus toward the upcoming playoffs. Rivers said he things Embiid, an MVP candidate despite missing 19 games already this season, will be just fine come playoff time.
Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images
Accolades for the Wizards seventh consecutive win are being doled out to Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal. Deservedly in Westbrook’s case he was terrific. Less so for Beal, although the guard did finish with 33 points.
What won the game for the Wizards was a stifling second half defense against the league’s least efficient offense.
In the first half, the Wizards were lackadaisical on defense and the 30th ranked Oklahoma City offense got an array of open looks and free runs at the basket, which they converted. At the break, the Thunder had a .577 effective field goal percentage and a 133 offensive rating (points per possession x 100).
A sweltering offensive start for the Thunder cooled off in the second half as Washington continued their offensive push through the remaining two frames. Four players with 18 or more points wouldn’t be enough for the Thunder to split the season series with Washington on Friday.
Game Flow
There was a combined 71 points worth of offense on the board between the Thunder and the Wizards to open Wednesday’s matchup.
The Thunder’s offense flowed from multiple sources to start the game. The 3-point line, the paint and the free throw line that played the largest role in the Thunder’s offensive game in the opening quarter. The Thunder went 4-for-8 from behind the arc, 7-for-8 from the charity stripe and outscored the Wizards 14-10 in the paint.