Russell Westbrook Scores 54 Points vs. Pacers, 16th Technical Foul Rescinded

Few players in the NBA can fill a box score quite like Russell Westbrook. The Oklahoma City Thunder point guard dropped 54 points, nine rebounds and eight assists Sunday in a 116-104 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

The 26-year-old shot 21-of-43 from the field, including 5-of-15 from behind the arc. The rest of his teammates combined to shoot 20-of-52. CBS Sports' Chris Towers commented on Westbrook's shot selection and provided a note on Thunder guard Dion Waiters' efforts:

Westbrook talked about taking 43 shots after the game, per the NBA on ESPN Twitter account: 

But it was the one number that doesn't show up on the stat sheet that might have made the biggest impact. According to Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman, Westbrook earned his 16th technical foul of the season, which results in an automatic one-game suspension.   

However, the league announced on Monday that it has rescinded the technical foul, per Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman, which will allow Westbrook to take the court Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers:

Kevin Durant let his opinion about the technical be known at the time in an R-rated tweet. (warning: NSFW language)

With this latest loss, the Thunder match the New Orleans Pelicans' record of 43-37 as the two battle for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. New Orleans still owns the head-to-head tiebreaker with Oklahoma City.

As a result, losing to Portland could irreparably damage the Thunder's playoff hopes.

Following the loss to Indiana, OKC head coach Scott Brooks remained confident Westbrook would be on the court against the Blazers, per Slater:

As it turns out, Brooks was 100 percent correct.

Before the season, it would've seemed crazy to think the Thunder could miss out on the postseason altogether, but they're teetering on the brink of that becoming a reality.

Fortunately for them, they'll have Westbrook available to possibly save their season.