Is Russell Westbrook a human being? Tangibly, yes. But the way the Oklahoma City Thunder point guard is playing right now, he seems closer to an extraterrestrial than anything mere mortals like you or I can relate to.
Russell Westbrook just did something not done since Michael Jordan
Four straight triple-doubles. Holy cow.
Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Westbrook played in a mask against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night after brutally taking a knee to the head five days earlier. All he did was finish with 49 points, 10 assists and 16 rebounds in the Thunder's 123-118 overtime win over Philly. It was a career high in both scoring and rebounding for the 26-year-old point guard.
Did the mask slow Westbrook down? Not even a little.
Westbrook needed to take 32 shots to accomplish that incredible line, but who cares? Without Kevin Durant, Westbrook knows the Thunder need him to produce to win, and this is a team that needs to win. Entering the night, OKC held just a one-game lead over the New Orleans Pelicans for the eighth and final playoff seed in the Western Conference.
The triple-double for Westbrook was his fourth straight. It put him in some historic company:
Russell Westbrook is the 1st player to post 4 straight triple-doubles since MJ posted this 7-gm streak in 1989: http://t.co/KT1HxeL1n6
— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) March 5, 2015 Westbrook has been one of the league’s most polarizing players for years, but there’s no denying he’s playing on a historic level right now. Just sit back and enjoy the show.
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