Russell Westbrook's 39th Triple-Double Not Enough as Spurs Rally to Beat Thunder
Russell Westbrook is the NBA's walking triple-double, but Kawhi Leonard's San Antonio Spurs are the more serious championship contenders and defensive juggernauts.
San Antonio rode its defense and Leonard's brilliance to a 100-95 victory over Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.
The game was hanging in the balance in the final seconds when Westbrook drove the lane down one, but LaMarcus Aldridge swatted his shot. Leonard grabbed the loose ball and went coast to coast for an and-1, which virtually clinched the dramatic victory.
Leonard and Westbrook are two serious players in the MVP race, and the Thunder guard notched his league-leading 39th triple-double. ESPN Stats & Info put the performance into historical perspective:
However, Leonard turned in yet another impressive overall game and spearheaded the victory:
| Kawhi Leonard | 28 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 10-of-22 | 0 |
| Russell Westbrook | 32 | 12 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 8-of-22 | 8 |
San Antonio was 3.5 games back of the Golden State Warriors for the Western Conference's No. 1 seed coming into Friday's contest and moved to 58-17 with the win. The 43-32 Thunder sit in the No. 6 seed and couldn't crack the Spurs' defense in the closing moments.
The Spurs rank No. 1 in the league in defensive rating, per NBA.com, and held the Thunder to 6-of-21 shooting from three-point range (28.6 percent) and forced 18 turnovers (eight of which came from Westbrook). That defensive effort was enough to overcome more individual brilliance from Westbrook, as he was the only player on his team to score more than 16.
Leonard received critical help from Pau Gasol (17 PTS) and Aldridge (14 PTS, 10 REB and 3 BLK), and the Spurs as a team finished with 11 blocks and eight steals.
Despite the loss, the Thunder wasted little time seizing momentum and jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the opening stretch.
They ultimately stretched that to a 54-41 halftime advantage, and Westbrook was well on his way to another triple-double with 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. He was feeling fully confident against the formidable Spurs, as Royce Young of ESPN.com pointed out:
Intermission didn't slow the playmaker or his team, and they started the second half with a 12-5 run to open a 20-point advantage, seemingly ending the competitive portion of the contest.
The Spurs being the Spurs would have none of that. They quickly turned a 70-51 deficit into just a 76-71 hole by the end of quarter with that strong defense, and then they allowed a mere 19 points in the fourth.
Patty Mills drilled a three to tie the game with 4:28 remaining, and the two sides battled back and forth until Aldridge's dunk set up the game-deciding sequence that ended in Leonard's and-1.
The Spurs will look to parlay Friday's momentum into an extended winning streak with their next three contests at home against the Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers.
Oklahoma City will strive to bounce back with its next two contests at home against the Charlotte Hornets and Milwaukee Bucks.
Postgame Reaction
Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News shared Leonard's postgame comments:
Young also passed along Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich's take on the game:
Westbrook had this to say about his younger teammates after the loss, per Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman: "It's huge, definitely, for them to understand what games are going to be like [in the playoffs]. It's gonna be like this every night especially moving forward, and they got to be ready."
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