Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook has had a rebound taken away from him in the Miami Heat game and so fell short of his 10th triple double.
READ MORE:
Westbrook ready to drag OKC into playoffs: Point guard is in sensational form.
Westbrook puts up another triple-double: (Video) Little did Westbrook know it wouldn’t count.
Westbrook with emphatic block on Dragic: (Video) OKC star tracks back and makes the swat.
The NBA announced on Monday that Westbrook was incorrectly credited with a rebound in Sunday’s 93-75 win over the Heat and that correction means he finished the game with 12 points, 17 assists and nine rebounds.
As a result, the Thunder point guard still has nine triple-doubles for the season with OKC moving to 40-30 due to their good recent form which in turn has opened up a two-and-a-half game lead for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
With Kevin Durant still sidelined due to on-going issues with his foot and Serge Ibaka undergoing knee surgery, the responsibility of leading the team has fallen on the 26-year-old and he is relishing it.
While OKC made some key moves ahead of the trade deadline to add depth and quality to the bench, it is still Westbrook that needs to lead the team towards the post-season, and if they are capable of maintaining their current level of play, then it could be enough to keep the likes of the New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns at bay.
Westbrook has refused to discuss the MVP race so far this year with the likes of James Harden and Stephen Curry also involved in the conversation, and it promises to be a thrilling conclusion given the form of the trio.
A night after Westbrook’s impressive game against Miami, Harden put up 44 points in the Houston Rockets’ win over the Indiana Pacers to swing the momentum back in his favour. Meanwhile, Curry continued to tick along with 24 points on Tuesday night as the Golden State Warriors set the pace in the NBA.
COMMENTS