Welcome to the Year of Russell Westbrook, where triple-double alarms can sound on any given night, usage rates reach record highs and no opposing team is safe. On Friday, Westbrook did something that hasn’t been done in 41 years. He finished with 51 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a 113-110 overtime win for the Oklahoma City Thunder over the Phoenix Suns. It only took him 44 shots to get there.
NBA scores 2016: Russell Westbrook achieves nirvana with a 51-point triple-double
Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis are putting up bonkers stat-lines this season.
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.
This is the first 50-point triple-double since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it in 1975. It was a masterpiece in the genre of Let Westbrook Be Westbrook, one that sacrificed any semblance of efficiency for cold, hard production.
The Suns took a one-point lead with 19 seconds left when Eric Bledsoe raced down the court and converted a tough layup. The Thunder put the ball in Westbrook’s hands, where he darted into the teeth of the defense and finished at the rim for the deciding layup.
It wasn’t always that easy. Westbrook missed eight straight shots with the game hanging in the balance between the fourth quarter and overtime. T.J. Warren (30 points on 13-of-18 shooting) kept Phoenix alive for most of the night, and Devin Booker hit some clutch shots late to send it to overtime.
In the end, the battering ram that is Russell Westbrook was simply too much.
If you thought the 32-12-9 line Westbrook posted in his season debut was impressive, well, that’s nothing. The world got a sneak peek at what a fully liberated Westbrook looks like when Kevin Durant missed most of the 2014-15 season with a foot injury, and it appears he’s trying to recreate that over 82 games this season.
Can the Thunder, now 2-0, really keeping winning this way?
As the Brodie himself would say, why not?
Anthony Davis is on a lonely mission
Anthony Davis set an NBA record on Friday. With 45 points and 17 rebounds, he has scored the most points through a team’s first two games in NBA history. There was only one problem: the Pelicans lost again, this time 122-114 to the Warriors.
These numbers are hard to put up in 2K on rookie mode, let alone against the league’s preeminent superteam in real life:
Davis’ gem against Golden State follows a 50-point, 16-rebound, seven-steal season debut against Denver on Wednesday. What does he have to do for New Orleans to win a game? Score 70?
Davis did get some decent help this game. Trent Frazier popped off for 21 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, while Dante Cunningham and Lance Stephenson each chipped in 15 points. Unfortunately for New Orleans, it takes a lot more than that to beat the Warriors.
The Magic look like a disaster
What were the Orlando Magic thinking this offseason? That’s a question a lot of NBA observers asked themselves as Orlando traded for Serge Ibaka and signed Bismack Biyombo and Jeff Green. The answer remains unclear two games into the season.
The Magic were whooped again on Friday, this time 108-82 against the Pistons. Orlando was down by 30+ for most of the second half. Even reading the team Twitter account is depressing:
Surely, a meeting with LeBron and friends will make everything better. Yikes.
The Magic are playing lineups with three big men on the floor together during a time when the league is downsizing faster than ever. The spacing is a nightmare: a lack of shooting means non-existent driving lanes, which translates to a lot of big bodies standing in the paint essentially trying to pound a square peg in a round hole.
At least the other bad teams are fun. The 76ers finally get to enjoy the Joel Embiid show, the Lakers have a group of good-looking young players led by D’Angelo Russell and the Suns have Devin Booker and two rookies taken in the lottery.
The Magic aren’t even entertaining in defeat. This simply looks like a trainwreck all the way around.
Play of the night
How many times do we get to give this honor to Ish Smith? Got to take advantage of it when we can.
NBA scores
Cavaliers 94, Raptors 91 (Fear the Sword recap | Raptors HQ recap)
Rockets 106, Mavericks 98 (The Dream Shake recap | Mavs Moneyball recap)
Warriors 122, Pelicans 114 (Golden State of Mind recap | The Bird Writes recap)
Pistons 108, Magic 82 (Detroit Bad Boys recap | Orlando Pinstriped Post recap)
Thunder 113, Suns 110, OT (Welcome to Loud City recap | Bright Side of the Sun recap)
Nets 103, Pacers 94 (Nets Daily recap | Indy Cornrows recap)
Hornets 97, Heat 91 (At the Hive recap | Hot Hot Heat recap)
Jazz 96, Lakers 89 (SLC Dunk recap | Silver Screen and Roll recap)
See More:
