Russell Westbroos, the NBA’s triple-double leader, recorded his 12th Monday night in the OKC Thunder’s 124-98 blowout of the visiting Portland Trail Blazers.
Russ finished with 17 points, 16 assists and ten rebounds.
Russell Westbrook now leads NBA in triple-doubles w/ a dozen. First player since Jason Kidd in '07-'08 to have 12+ pic.twitter.com/LNe1xqPviL
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 15, 2016
The Thunder snapped a two-game losing streak.
Per The Oklahoman:
Faced with the reality of an unprecedented 4-8 slide — its warts becoming harder to ignore by the day — the Thunder finally responded. There were many reasons for it. OKC’s bench awoke. (Serge) Ibaka recaptured his jumper. Kevin Durant and Westbrook protected the ball. […] “The adversity’s been good for us,” coach Billy Donovan said. “It’s shined a light on things we need to get better at.”
Communication is the lifeblood of defense. It’s what still keeps Kendrick Perkins in the league. For the Thunder, it’s been absent of late. On Monday, it wasn’t. […] From the bigs to the guards to the coaching staff, everyone was talking. They were calling out and recognizing screens. They were making proper rotations. They were summoning over Donovan, more than usual, for dead-ball discussions.
The result: Portland, the league’s seventh best offense, shot a putrid 34 percent. […] “I liked the way we defended,” Durant said. “I think that is what starts everything on the floor.”
