NBA playoffs 2014: Thunder complete stunning comeback to win Game 5

Think about Westbrook’s best basketball attributes. He’s incredibly athletic (he’s fast and he can jump), has good size for his position, is utterly fearless, possesses good court vision, has strong body control and a quick release and -- most importantly -- gives zero damns about what the right play would be at any given moment. Now, think about his basketball shortcomings. He’s prone to making bad decisions with the ball (see; zero damns given) and he’s not a top deep shooter.

Why would you want a player with that collection of attributes to be a pass-first, half-court point guard? It makes no sense! The entirety of Westbrook’s skills, mentality and body serves to create an aggressive, high-volume scoring guard who creates tons of shots and never second-guesses himself.

Somehow, the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from seven down with 50 seconds left to steal Game 5 from the Clippers. How did they do it?

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

HOLY HELLCATS: Another instant classic from the Thunder and Clippers. In this one, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant fought back from the Gates of Hell in the final moments to bridge a 13-point gap and win in regulation. Of course, the winning points came on three free throws by Westy after a shaky foul call after what appeared to be a poor review on an out-of-bounds call on the refs.

The Los Angeles Clippers’ collapse in Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder had Doc Rivers heated in his postgame press conference. Specifically, Rivers was incensed at this play:

That shows Reggie Jackson driving after Chris Paul committed a costly turnover with the Clippers up two with 14 seconds left. Matt Barnes swiped at the ball and it appeared Jackson touched it out of bounds. Nevertheless, the Thunder retained possession, perhaps because the referees realized they missed a foul call.

Referees ruled it Thunder ball despite having touched Jackson last, due to wording in the NBA’s official rule book. The rule gives the ball back to the team that touched it last if the dispossession is caused by an opposing player hitting their hand.

With six seconds left after the fracas, Westbrook put up a desperation three-pointer which missed, but drew a foul on Paul. Three free throws later, Oklahoma City sealed the game and grabbed a 3-2 series lead.