Russell Westbrook’s latest triple-double came with plenty of help from his teammates and translated into a 115-113 NBA playoff victory for the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.
It was a win the Thunder desperately needed after falling to 0-2 in their Western Conference first-round series against the Houston Rockets.
That included a disheartening defeat on Wednesday, when Westbrook posted a triple-double that included 51 points, but was criticized for a fourth quarter in which he made just four of 18 shots.
Photo: AP
“I had to do a better job of trusting my teammates for 48 minutes,” Westbrook said. “Today those guys made plays throughout the whole game and that’s what I tried to do.”
Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan called Westbrook’s effort “unbelievable.”
“He got guys shots,” Donovan said. “He took advantage when they switched. He did a lot of different things. He played an exceptional game.”
Westbrook, who notched a record 42 regular-season triple-doubles, on Friday finished with 32 points, 11 assists and 13 rebounds.
It was not perfect. His second missed free throw of the closing seconds kept the door open for the Rockets, whose star James Harden was off-target with a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Harden had hit a three-pointer with 52 seconds remaining that knotted the score at 111-111.
Westbrook responded with his first three-point attempt of the game. It rattled off the rim, but teammate Steven Adams managed to put it back for two points and the lead.
The teams then traded free-throw attempts until Harden’s final effort. When it bounced off the backboard, Westbrook was there to bat the ball away.
“I just wanted to get the best shot available,” said Harden, who finished with 44 points, but missed two three-pointers in the final 15 seconds.
It was not those miscues, but the Rockets’ slow start in the face of an early Thunder blitz, that determined the game, Harden said.
Alexander Zverev on Wednesday reached his 18th ATP Masters semi-final in Rome, but only after a worrying fall which sparked memories of the horror injury he had at the French Open two years ago. The world No. 5 from Germany defeated Taylor Fritz of the US 6-4, 6-3 in Italian Open to set up a last-four duel with Alejandro Tabilo, the Chilean journeyman who had stunned world No. 1 Novak Djokovic earlier in the tournament. Zverev’s moment of concern came in just the third game on center court at the Foro Italico when he fell on the clay and landed on his
The Hsinchu Titans yesterday made a strong start in Group A of the Taiwan Premier League in Taipei, winning two games as the 10-team T20 competition began at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground. Chetan Sharma scored 57 from 30 deliveries in the morning match as the Titans made 178-7 against the Taipei Indians, who helped their opponents’ cause with 26 extras. Pramod Mandal took 3-11 as the Indians struggled to 126-8 in reply. The Taipei Stallions posed a greater hurdle to the Titans in the afternoon match, posting 163-7 after choosing to bat first. Hassaan Samad smashed 77 from 44 with seven fours and six
Andre de Grasse, the reigning Olympic champion in the men’s 200m, and many other top-class international athletes are to showcase their talent in Taipei at the Taiwan Athletics Open early next month, according to the event’s official Web site. The Canadian sprinter, who clocked 19.62 seconds to top the podium in Tokyo in 2021, is to compete at the Taipei Stadium after the two-day event was upgraded to a leg of the World Athletics Continental Tour. The elevated status of the Taiwan Athletics Open means participants can earn more ranking points, making it possible for the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association (CTAA), the
Novak Djokovic on Sunday described his shock third-round elimination from the Internazionali BNL d’Italia by Alejandro Tabilo as “concerning,” two days after he was hit on the head by a bottle, which he said has caused nausea and dizzy spells. Djokovic’s bid for a record-extending 41st Masters 1000 title was ended in just more than an hour by Chilean Tabilo, who is ranked 32nd in the world and claimed his first win over a top-10 opponent, 6-2, 6-3. The 24-time Grand Slam winner said that his subdued performance on a court where he has won six titles might have been due to