Jonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesRussell Westbrook's 43-point night was not enough to lead the Thunder to victory.
The Oklahoma City Thunder came up short against the Chicago Bulls but Russell Westbrook had another impressive performance. He finished with 43 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, just missing out on becoming the fourth player in NBA history with a triple-double in five consecutive games.
Strong play continues Westbrook has at least 40 points, five reboundsand five assists in each of his last three games. That is tied for the second-longest streak in NBA history; only Elgin Baylor had a longer streak.
No one in the NBA has more 40-point games than Westbrook this season. Since Feb. 1, he has five games with at least 40 points. The rest of the league has six combined. Westbrook became the first player in franchise history with three straight 40-point games.
Westbrook is averaging more points, rebounds and assists per game without Kevin Durant this season. The numbers he is generating over his last nine games without the reigning MVP would make Oscar Robertson proud. Westbrook is averaging a triple-double over that stretch: 35.0 points, 10.7 assists and 10.4 rebounds.
Thursday recap Westbrook scored more than half of his points when operating in a "one-man offense." He poured in 24 of his 43 points when starting the play behind the backcourt and finishing without passing. All five of his turnovers came when the offense included a pass.
Although he finished with 43 points, Westbrook struggled against E'Twaun Moore in the half court. He scored six points on 2-of-12 shooting and turned the ball over four times when guarded by Moore. Westbrook had 20 points and made 54 percent of his shots when guarded by the rest of the team.
Chasing history Following his 49-point outburst Wednesday night, Westbrook overtook James Harden as the NBA scoring leader. He extended that lead Thursday night and now leads Harden by 0.45 points. If Westbrook wins this season's scoring title, it would mark only the second time in NBA history that one team had two different players lead the league in points per game in consecutive seasons. Hall of Famers Paul Arizon and Neil Johnston were the first to do so for the Philadelphia Warriors during the 1951-52 and 1952-53 seasons.
Westbrook has fully immersed himself into the MVP conversation. With Durant winning the award a season ago, they would join Bob Cousy and Bill Russell as the only set of teammates to be named MVP in consecutive seasons. The Celtics legends did so during the 1956-57 and 1957-58 seasons.
Victory Eagle Sports Garment Co. ,Ltd is a sports clothing manufacturing and exporting company. Our clothing includes custom hockey jerseys,custom fishing jerseys, sublimated rugby jerseys,custom lacrosse jerseys and shorts,sublimated Racing shirts,singlets, polo shirts, T-shirts, jackets, outwear, sweatshirts,sports apparel and accessories for a lot of sports clubs, teams, schools, media marketing company and so on.
没有评论:
发表评论