The Russell Westbrook and James Harden duel didn’t quite live up to its lofty expectations. In a 103-100 game, the Thunder had the ball and the inbounds pass made its way to Westbrook. All he needed to do was run out the clock and ... wait, hold up.
NBA scores 2016: Russell Westbrook won the battle of the one-man shows
Westbrook topped James Harden, including one ferocious, unnecessary dunk to close out the game.
Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Why aren’t you running out the clock, Russell?
Oh! That works too.
Westbrook’s totally unnecessary, definitely risky, completely worthwhile savagery in the game’s final seconds saved what was otherwise a rather bland affair between the NBA’s two “one-man shows.” It’s strange to think Westbrook and Harden were once teammates when you see them nearly single-handedly carry their respective units for every second they are on the floor. Westbrook creates a percentage point more offense when playing, but it’s practically equal.
Westbrook finished with 30 points on 9-of-20 shooting, nine assists and seven rebounds, while Harden notched 13 points on 4-of-16 shooting with 13 assists and seven boards himself. Neither totally commandeered their offenses like we’ve seen in recent games, and Westbrook’s superior shooting game eventually helped his team win the game.
The thing is, on Wednesday neither player needed to. Westbrook’s scoring was nearly matched by his scoring co-star Victor Oladipo, who had 29 points. Harden saw six other teammates score in double figures in this game, influenced but definitely not caused only by his stellar passing.
There’s a joy in watching a team operate on an island. Westbrook and Harden will still do plenty of that throughout this season, both by design and sometimes out of necessity after both team’s main co-stars departed this summer. Both are pushing the statistical bounds of the NBA, and you can’t help but think the league’s in a great place because of things like that. Once you’ve committed to the two players essentially being on their own on a nightly basis, it’s nice to see the script flip for a more positive team-based outcome. That’s the real beauty of the NBA.
Well, it’s nice to see all that, and it’s also very nice to see Westbrook end a life on a left-handed posterization on the play’s final game. That’s how we all win.
The Raptors’ nightmare back-to-back shows no mercy
There’s nothing the Raptors can really do about playing the Cavaliers and Warriors on back-to-back nights except shrug their shoulders. They played them close but lost both games by single digits. What can they do but move onto the next one?
When you include another loss to Cleveland earlier in the year, Toronto has lost three games by a combined 13 points. Never mind the Cavaliers’ emphatic statement that they’re still best in the East — the Raptors are incredibly good themselves, and in this rare instance, their losses prove that.
Toronto is 7-4 now, but that record won’t hold for long. The performances they had the past two days would have beat anyone but the two teams they faced. There’s no shame in that — just bad luck.
Wednesday’s top performances
Terrence Jones (26 points, 9 rebounds)
With Anthony Davis sitting out, the Pelicans almost squeezed out a win anyone thanks to Jones’ surprising replacement performances. Alas — an 89-82 defeat to the Magic drops New Orleans to 2-10 on the year.
Kevin Love (27 points, 16 rebounds)
Another replacement for a sitting superstar, Love did his part in LeBron James’ absence. It just wasn’t enough for the win.
Wilson Chandler (28 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists)
This isn’t the start Denver wanted, but a win against the Suns on Wednesday may be helping them back on track. Chandler’s a big part of that, as nearly everyone around the Nuggets could have told you coming into the season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (26 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks)
Just look at this. C’mon.
Kristaps Porzingis (35 points, 13-of-22 shooting, 7 rebounds)
The powers of New York’s most favored son keep growing. On Wednesday, Porzingis dropped a career high, with 25 of the points coming in the first half alone. How far away he is from the All-Star Game is a serious question now.
Final scores
Pacers 103, Cavaliers 93 [Indy Cornrows recap | Fear the Sword recap]
Celtics 90, Mavericks 83 [Celtics Blog recap | Mavs Moneyball recap]
76ers 109, Wizards 102 [Liberty Ballers recap | Bullets Forever recap]
Magic 89, Pelicans 82 [Orlando Pinstriped Post recap | The Bird Writes recap]
Knicks 105, Pistons 102 [Posting and Toasting recap | Detroit Bad Boys recap]
Hawks 107, Bucks 100 [Peachtree Hoops recap | Brew Hoop recap]
Warriors 127, Raptors 121 [Golden State of Mind recap | Raptors HQ recap]
Thunder 105, Rockets 103 [Welcome to Loud City recap | The Dream Shake recap]
Nuggets 120, Suns 104 [Denver Stiffs recap | Bright Side of the Sun recap]
Grizzlies 111, Clippers 107 [Grizzly Bear Blues recap | Clips Nation recap]
Spurs 110, Kings 105 [Pounding the Rock recap | Sactown Royalty recap]
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