LOS ANGELES, USA – Russell Westbrook bagged his 14th triple-double of the season as the Oklahoma City Thunder overpowered Western Conference rivals the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA on Tuesday, January 22 (Wednesday, January 23, Manila time).
Westbrook finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists to reach double digits in 3 key statistical categories, while teammate Paul George led the scoring with 36 points in a 123-114 victory at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The win saw the Thunder improve to 29-18, tightening their grip on 3rd place in the West ahead of 4th-placed Portland, who slipped to 29-20 with the defeat.
29 PTS, 10 REB, 14 AST
— NBA (@NBA) January 23, 2019
14th triple-double of season
118th of his career@russwest44 & the @okcthunder win at home! #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/8F07AAZw25
While Westbrook and George led the Thunder’s scoring, they received support throughout the lineup, with every starter posting double-digits.
New Zealand’s Steven Adams and shooting guard Terrance Ferguson had 14 points apiece while Jerami Grant had 11 points. Dennis Schroder added 13 off the bench in his 22 minutes on court.
PG has 20 PTS in the first half on @NBATV!#RipCity 55#ThunderUp 62
— NBA (@NBA) January 23, 2019
Russ: 11 PTS, 7 AST
Dame: 14 PTS, 5 AST pic.twitter.com/RSpBp5ltE2
“It’s very important to get everyone involved,” Westbrook said. “We’ve got so many guys in this team that are talented. We try to get everyone involved and into the game.”
The burden of Portland’s scoring was once again shouldered by Damian Lillard, who had 34 points. CJ McCollum added 31 points while Bosnian international Jusuf Nurkic added 22 points.
.@russwest44 with 29p/10r/14a and how about that finish? #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/cYxyMVZ14y
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 23, 2019
In other games, Dennis Smith Jr returned from his mysterious week-long absence to help the Dallas Mavericks claim a 106-98 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Smith Jr, whose absence had been attributed variously to a sore back and a stomach bug, scored 17 points on his return, along with Luka Doncic, who also had 17. Harrison Barnes led the Mavs with 20 points.
Elsewhere, Karl Anthony-Towns scored 25 points and had 18 rebounds for Minnesota in a 118-91 blowout against Phoenix.
The Suns fell to 11-38 after the loss and remain anchored to the bottom of the Western Conference. – Rappler.com
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