Russell Westbrook, determined to bounce back from an embarrassing defeat, produced his 25th triple-double of the season on Friday to propel the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 114-102 NBA victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Westbrook’s 38 points included his team’s final 15. He handed out 12 assists and pulled down 13 rebounds for the Thunder, who had been routed 128-100 by Chicago on Wednesday.
After that debacle on their home floor, it was imperative the Thunder seize the early initiative, Westbrook said.
Photo: AP
“Especially after last game, when you lose and get out-played,” he said.
“Tonight we came out and were the more physical team, set the tone in that aspect,” he said. “We were physical, came out and hit first in a grind-it-out game.”
Center Steven Adams of New Zealand added 16 points for the Thunder. Joffrey Lauvergne came off the bench to contribute 16 as Oklahoma City snapped a three-game skid.
Photo: AP
Spanish big man Marc Gasol led the Grizzles with 31 points and eight assists. Mike Conley added 18 points, but the Grizzlies saw their three-game winning streak end.
“It’s disappointing,” Conley said. “This is a big game for us, not just because it’s OKC, but the schedule, the standings. These games matter for us.”
Westbrook’s 25 triple-doubles are the most in a season since Wilt Chamberlain had 31 in the 1967-1968 campaign.
He was not the only player stuffing the stat sheet on Friday.
Serbian center Nikola Jokic notched the first triple-double of his career to help the Denver Nuggets to a 121-117 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
However, Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins’ triple-double came in a losing cause.
Jokic, back in the Nuggets lineup after missing three games with a left hip flexor strain, scored 20 points with 13 rebounds and 11 assists.
Wilson Chandler added 21 points and eight rebounds for the Nuggets, who led by 22 early in the third quarter then withstood a Bucks comeback bid.
Jabari Parker scored 27 points for the Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 23. Antetokounmpo’s three-pointer pulled Milwaukee within 113-112 with 2 minutes, 53 seconds to play and Parker again got the deficit to one point with a driving layup with 1 minute, 43 seconds remaining, but they could not get in front.
In Sacramento, Cousins scored 22 points with 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his second triple-double of the season.
It was Phoenix guard Devin Booker who stole the show, with a fadeaway basket as time expired that gave the Suns a 105-103 victory.
Booker scored more than 30 points for the eighth time this season, and took his string of successive games with at least 20 to 15 straight as the Suns snapped a five-game skid.
In Houston, the Rockets retired Yao Ming’s jersey, then prevented the Chicago Bulls from putting a damper on the celebrations by holding on for a 121-117 overtime victory.
James Harden scored 42 points, including the deciding free-throws in the final 36 seconds of overtime against a Bulls team who were missing star Jimmy Butler because of a heel contusion.
The tense finish came after an emotional halftime ceremony honoring China’s Yao, whose selection in the 2002 NBA draft made him the first player drafted No. 1 overall who had not played collegiately in the US.
Yao, forced into retirement in 2011 after a string of foot injuries, was the sixth Rockets player to have his jersey retired.
Rookie guard Yogi Ferrell, plucked from the developmental league by Dallas last week and signed to a 10-day contract, scored 32 points to lead the Mavericks to a 108-104 victory over the Trail Blazers in Portland.
Wesley Matthews added a season-high 27 points for the Mavericks, who are now two games behind the Nuggets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
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