The Thunder gave the Portland Trail Blazers something to think about.
Russell Westbrook had 17 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds in his 12th triple-double of the season, and Oklahoma City beat the Trail Blazers 128-94 on Monday night.
If the playoffs had started Monday, Portland would have been at Oklahoma City.
”We know we might face these guys in the playoffs, so we wanted to send a message,” forward Kevin Durant said.
Westbrook had the 31st triple-double of his career and matched Sacramento’s Rajon Rondo for the most assists without a turnover in a game this season.
”Just enjoy the process, come out and play at a high level, like I do every night,” Westbrook said.
Enes Kanter scored a season-high 26 points, Durant added 20 and Serge Ibaka had 15 for the Thunder, whose 45th win matched their victory total from last season. Oklahoma City shot a season-high 59 percent from the field.
Damian Lillard scored 21 points and C.J. McCollum added 15 for the Trail Blazers, who have lost five of seven. Portland shot a season-low 34.1 percent from the field.
Portland allowed its highest field-goal percentage of the season, and Oklahoma City’s field-goal percentage defense was its best of the season.
The Thunder improved to 12-0 this season when Westbrook gets a triple-double, and he fell one rebound short of having it by halftime. He collected his 10th point on a layup with 3:37 remaining in the first half and notched his 10th assist on a pass to Ibaka for a dunk with 2:40 remaining in the second quarter. He got his ninth rebound with 3:25 left, but couldn’t snag another one. He had 10 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists at the break.
According to STATS, no NBA player has collected a triple-double in the first half of a game since the start of the 2002-03 season, when the company began keeping track.
”He’s a handful,” Lillard said. ”He was coming off pick-and-rolls, making plays for guys, and they made shots. I didn’t think he did anything different tonight than what he does all the time.”
Oklahoma City led 66-42 at halftime, and Westbrook dished out five more assists in the third quarter to help the Thunder go up 102-72 at the end of the period.
The teams will meet one more time in the regular season, on April 6 in Portland.
via Yahoo!sports