You can argue over who should be the NBA’s MVP, but there’s little doubt over whose season will go down as the most memorable.
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The league plans on investigating what exactly happened, but rumors are already swirling of the incident that went down. And once again, the Thunder were atrocious when he was on the bench, losing the nine non-Westbrook minutes by 18 points.
However, it was Westbrook’s reserved triple-double effort that will steal headlines in this one, and for good reason.
Despite the questionable officiating, this was a game the Thunder shouldn’t have lost. Heading into restricted free agency, Roberson has proven his case as a growing two-way stud alongside Westbrook. “We’re in this together, we play as a team, that’s all that matters”.
Westbrook was outstanding in recording another triple-double, scoring 32 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out 11 assists. During the regular season, Oklahoma City was +251 with Westbrook on the court and -189 when he was off the court.
Thomas keyed a third-quarter run after the Bulls wiped out a 20-point deficit and briefly went ahead, helping top-seeded Boston return the favor in Chicago after dropping the first two games at home. It allowed the Rockets to stay competitive in a game where the Thunder looked to be in control numerous times and Harden was having a nightmare of a game. Gibson knew he didn’t need to change much going into Game 3.
Wizards: Mahinmi will miss Games 3 and 4 with injury WASHINGTON- Injured Wizards backup center Ian Mahinmi will miss at least Games 3 and 4 of Washington’s first-round Eastern Conference playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks.
Griffin averaged 25 points, 6 rebounds and 2.5 assists in the first two games.
The Thunder were just 2 of 7 from the floor with three turnovers with Westbrook out. Nene scored a team-high 28 points, going an incredible 12-for-12 from the field and iced the victory with a late free throw for the final point of the game.
Lou Williams scored 22 points and Ryan Anderson added 18 for the Rockets. When the Rockets aren’t hitting from three at a more consistent clip, they’re leaving the door wide open for the Thunder to hang around. When they took the lead with 4:01 to play they were in front for the first time since the first quarter.
On the surface, there are reasons as to why the Rockets have started the past two games this way. Although he’s on the playoff roster, his usage remains to be seen when he does come back.
The fourth Game 3 loss, at Oklahoma City in the conference finals, put the Warriors down 2-1.
Since 2010, the Thunder has been involved in 95 playoff games.
The board gave Westbrook a triple-double in the first half, making him just the second player in National Basketball Association history to record three consecutive playoff triple-doubles.
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As the fourth quarter continued to play out, it became apparent that Houston was intent on intentionally fouling Thunder wing Andre Roberson. Game 4 is Sunday in Chicago.
