Saturday NBA Roundup: Hero-Ball Efforts Fall Short for Russell Westbrook, OKC
It was too little, too late, but Russell Westbrook should have no shame after drastically reversing course and nearly lifting the Oklahoma City Thunder (41-32) to an improbable come-from-behind victory Saturday night.
In the Thunder's 94-89 loss to the Utah Jazz, Westbrook finished with a game-high 37 points (12-of-29 shooting, 10-of-12 from the free-throw line), eight rebounds, six assists and nine turnovers.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Westbrook sits atop the leaderboard when it comes to finishing with stacked lines:
However, seven of Westbrook's turnovers came in the first half, and he didn't get careless with the ball a single time during a tense fourth quarter. Westbrook poured in 20 of his 37 points throughout the game's final frame, showing off his tenacious attitude by mercilessly attacking the rim and banging home improbable jumpers to keep things close down to the final buzzer.
He also wasn't afraid to take risks, challenging Jazz center Rudy Gobert (13 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks, three steals) at the summit in an attempt to create a transition opportunity down the stretch:
It wasn't a resume-building performance by any means, but Westbrook doesn't have the sidekick he deserves right now to help stymie opposing defenses and take a load off every once and a while.
That became clear when he stopped deferring and decided to shoulder the offensive load, according to ESPN.com's Royce Young:
Although he atoned for early mistakes with a stunning display in the fourth, Westbrook couldn't help Oklahoma City cross the 90-point threshold, much less top the century mark. The Thunder have now failed to score 100 points in three of their last four games, with the lone exception coming in Tuesday's 127-117 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Enes Kanter helped provide a little support in the form of an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double against his former team, but it wasn't enough to mask Oklahoma City's personnel-related shortcomings versus a rapidly improving Jazz defense.
According to The Oklahoman's Anthony Slater, Kanter's etching his name into Thunder lore with his current string of double-doubles:
However, not everyone was impressed. Kanter's former teammate and current Jazz big man, Trevor Booker, told Jazz radio following the win, according to David Locke, stat-stuffing has become synonymous with the Turkish big's efforts:
Interestingly enough, Oklahoma City is now 9-3 when Kanter has recorded a double-double, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
With Kevin Durant (foot surgery) officially out for the remainder of the regular season and Serge Ibaka rehabilitating following arthroscopic knee surgery, Westbrook and the Thunder need to tread lightly over the next week-plus.
Starting Sunday, Oklahoma City will square off against the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs in succession.
A 2.5-game cushion on the New Orleans Pelicans gives Westbrook and his patchwork supporting cast the slightest margin for error in the week ahead, but if Saturday was any indication, late-game heroics alone won't cut it against hungrier competition.
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Golden State Rules the West
The Golden State Warriors extended their league-leading winning streak to nine games with a 108-95 thrashing of the offensively challenged Milwaukee Bucks.
In a meeting of offenses that reside on polar opposite ends of the efficiency spectrum, the Warriors leaned on Stephen Curry (25 points, six assists) and Klay Thompson (21 points, 17 in the third quarter) to clinch the Western Conference's No. 1 seed:
Golden State's 60th win also represents a new franchise record.
The Warriors outscored Milwaukee, 58-40, in the second and third quarters, thanks in part to long-distance jumpers like this one from Curry:
Golden State will have a chance to rattle off a 10th straight win Tuesday when it travels South for a showdown with the Los Angeles Clippers (10:30 p.m. ET on TNT).
Clear your schedules.
Hawks Sit Starters, Hornets Take Advantage
After securing the Eastern Conference's top seed on Friday, Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer gave his entire starting lineup the night off. In doing so, he gave the down-but-not-out Charlotte Hornets a welcome break.
Charlotte entered the contest having lost eight of its last 10 games. Even with the decks stacked in their favor, the Hornets faced a 14-8 deficit after the first six minutes. But Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson combined to score 11 points over the next six minutes to give Charlotte an advantage it nursed before opening things up late in the third.
The Hornets ultimately prevailed with a 115-100 victory. Walker and Henderson led the way with 21 and 20 points, respectively, and Mo Williams pumped in another 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting off the bench. Charlotte boasted an immaculate .525/.462/.864 shooting slash and tallied 28 assists against eight turnovers.
The numbers deserve an asterisk given the competition, but the 11th-seeded Hornets will take what they can get.
As Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer noted, the Hornets need to build off this with a major matchup against the eighth-seeded Boston Celtics looming Monday:
The Hawks, who were led by 20 points from Kent Bazemore and Mike Muscala's 18 points and 10 boards, host the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.
—Contributed by Zach Buckley
Bulls Wave Bye to the Knicks
Oh, how time flies. Just 11 days ago, the New York Knicks basked in the glow of an upset victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
Fast-forward to present day and New York has dropped seven straight following a 111-80 loss to the Chicago Bulls at United Center.
The Bulls were so dominant in their third straight win that Jimmy Butler and Joakim Noah got in on some fun with the fans during the second half:
Butler was his usual, efficient self, scoring 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting while hitting on all eight of his free-throw attempts. He tacked on five steals and four assists.
Speaking of consistency, Pau Gasol posted 19 points and 12 rebounds to record his 48th double-double in 70 games, according to ESPN Stats & Info:
Since the Toronto Raptors were idle, Chicago moved 1.5 games clear of its Canadian foes in the No. 3 seed while pushing the Knicks into historically futile territory, according to the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson:
Blazers Don't Impress, But LaMarcus Aldridge Does
It's a good thing style points don't affect the standings, because the Portland Trail Blazers haven't had many of them since losing starting shooting guard Wesley Matthews for the season to a torn Achilles.
Portland seemed primed to extend its winning streak to three games with the Denver Nuggets visiting the Moda Center on Saturday. The Nuggets had lost four of their last six outings and played this one without versatile forward Danilo Gallinari (rest).
The Blazers looked like the superior team, but they rarely flexed that extra muscle. They had a six-point edge after the first quarter, a five-point lead after the second, an eight-point advantage heading into the fourth and a 120-114 win when the final buzzer sounded.
They weren't great, but they were good enough. Considering they had won just two of their last seven games, Blazers fans might not have been asking for (or at least expecting) more.
It didn't need to be that way.
Portland hurt itself with lazy passes and too often lost track of a locked-in Randy Foye (17 points, 4-of-8 from three). It failed to capitalize on the scorching starts of LaMarcus Aldridge and Arron Afflalo, who combined for 29 first-half points on 13-of-20 shooting.
Aldridge made sure his club would come out on top.
The four-time All-Star piled up 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the third quarter. He finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds, his 10th game with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds (tied for second behind Anthony Davis' 14). And Portland needed all of that production with its other All-Star, Damian Lillard, struggling to an eight-point night on 4-of-11 shooting.
In the grand scheme, this counts the same as any victory. Sitting a half-game back of the Los Angeles Clippers and only one clear of the San Antonio Spurs, Portland will take it.
But the Blazers will need much better showings to restore confidence that they can still make noise in the Western Conference playoffs without Matthews. As good as Aldridge is, he can only carry this team so far on his own.
—Contributed by Zach Buckley
