Thunder Win Third Straight As Westbrook Tallies Another Triple-Double

Russell Westbrook tallied his eighth triple-double of the season as the Thunder took down the Knicks 112-103 to pick up its third straight win.

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Westbrook finished with 27 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists and now has as many triple-doubles as the rest of the NBA combined.

Despite winning its previous two games, the Thunder started off slow inside of Madison Square Garden on Monday night. New York led by five points after one quarter and led 38-31 before Westbrook checked back into the game early in the second quarter.

Westbrook immediately let his presence be known on the court, and his electric style of play led a 21-to-13 OKC run as the Thunder took a 52-51 lead. Whether he was slashing towards the basket, or flipping an assist to a wide-open Enes Kanter, Westbrook was making plays. So much so that OKC’s point guard was only one assist shy of recording the triple-double in the first half.

OKC kept rolling in the second half, and led by as many as nine points late in the third quarter. While it looked like the Knicks may lay down, New York did just the opposite. Led by Derrick Rose and blossoming superstar Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks clawed back to make the score 101-99 with 4:26 left in the game.

The pressure was mounting, but Westbrook stayed calm and collected.

Westbrook hit Andre Roberson for a corner three-pointer, then sprinted across the lane to finish a lefty layup, all before Kanter took over. The Turkish big man finished off two tough layups then converted a pair of free throws to cap off a 11-to-4 Thunder run to close the game.

Kanter totaled 27 points and 10 rebounds while his stache bro, Steven Adams, added 14 points and 10 rebounds of his own. Anthony Morrow had another solid game off the bench with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting while Roberson was also in double digits with 10 points.

Roberson’s defense on Carmelo Anthony was another huge factor in the game’s outcome. Anthony was held to 4-of-19 shooting as Roberson made everything difficult for the 13-year veteran. Rose led the Knicks with 30 points and seven rebounds while Porzingis added 21 points.

OKC won the points in the paint battle 66-to-46 while shooting 50 percent (46-92) from the field in the game.

The Thunder will be back in action on Wednesday night when OKC hosts Scott Brooks and the Washington Wizards.