Russell Westbrook vs. Suns: Stats, Highlights and Reaction
After a three-game drought with no triple-doubles, Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook returned with a vengeance on Saturday against the Phoenix Suns by recording the 50th triple-double of his career in a 114-101 victory.
| 34 | 26 | 9-17 | 22 | 11 | 1 | 2 |
Per NBA Stats on Twitter, Westbrook is the sixth player in league history with at least 50 career triple-doubles.
SportsCenter noted Westbrook needed the third-fewest games to record 50 career triple-doubles:
That is just the tip of the iceberg for what Westbrook accomplished with his latest triple-double. Per Fred Katz of the Norman Transcript, Oklahoma City's All-Star recorded the NBA's first triple-double with at least 20 points and 20 assists since 1998 when Rod Strickland did it for the Washington Wizards.
ESPN's Royce Young pointed out Westbrook finished four points shy of joining an exclusive group that includes just two players:
Westbrook's previous career high for assists in a game was 19, a mark he surpassed with this feed to Steven Adams for an easy layup, per the Thunder's official Twitter account:
There are certain games over the course of a season when everything is going right for a player. Westbrook has had that frequently this year already, but it was particularly evident nothing was going to go wrong for him against the Suns.
Even when it appeared Westbrook was on the verge of botching a play, things turned into highlight-reel moments that will be featured on recap videos for years to come.
Oscar Robertson is the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double over the course of an entire season. He averaged 30.8 points, 11.4 assists and 12.5 rebounds per game in 1961-62.
Westbrook still has 55 games left this season, but he entered Saturday averaging 30.5 points, 10.6 assists and 10.5 rebounds per game.
There seem to be no hurdles standing in Westbrook's way as he looks to make NBA history. His seamless acclimation into the No. 1 role for the Thunder following Kevin Durant's departure has been breathtaking to watch, with no sense he's going to ease off the throttle.
