Russell Westbrook accidentally blocked teammate’s dunk by playing so hard
Westbrook’s aggression cost the Thunder on this crunch-time possession against the Rockets in Game 5.
Russell Westbrook’s doomed last stand in Game 5 of the Western Conference quarterfinals will again reopen the debate on if his gaudy numbers actually help his team. Westbrook finished with 47 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s season-ending loss, but he shot only 2-of-11 in the fourth quarter.
This sequence with three minutes left in the fourth shows how Westbrook’s aggression can be harmful at times.
It looks like Oklahoma City’s Jerami Grant has an easy putback dunk here, but Westbrook stole the rebound and inadvertently blocked his teammate’s shot. Westbrook then reset on offense and drove to the hoop, where he missed a layup. He could have seen Grant standing wide open under the hoop.
Westbrook was brilliant in the third quarter to give OKC a short-lived lead, but the Houston Rockets came back in the fourth to win, 105-99. As a team, the Thunder shot just 24 percent in the final frame.
This Westbrook season was unforgettable for a lot of reasons. Add the fourth quarter of Game 5 to the list.
