Russell Westbrook finished with a 51-point, 13-assist, 10-rebound triple-double last night. That shouldn’t really surprise us because Westbrook’s been doing this all season long.
But as impressive as his triple-double was, it didn’t really matter since the Thunder lost 115-111, falling to 0-2 in the series. Westbrook scored 51, but no other Thunder player scored more than 12 points.
James Harden led Houston with 35 points, but it was the bench that was the difference. Eric Gordon and Lou Williams combined for 43 points and shot a combined 16-for-28 from the field, 6-for-10 from the 3-point line and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey is in the running for executive of the year, signing Gordon, trading for Williams, and hiring Mike D’Antoni, who has transformed Houston’s offense.
The Rockets go up 2-0. Game 3 will be on Friday in Houston.
ALL OF THE FREE THROWS
The Wizards beat the Hawks 109-101 to take a 2-0 lead in the series. But that wasn’t the story. The story was that there were a combined 71(!) free throws in the game. The game was tougher to watch than the NCAA National Championship game.
The backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 63 points for Washington.
And RIP Dennis Schroder.
Game 3 is on Saturday in Atlanta.
Do The Warriors Need Durant?
Probably not against the Blazers, no.
Kevin Durant didn’t play last night due to a calf injury and without him, the Warriors dominated the Blazers 110-81 to advance to 2-0.
Fun fact in this game: No player scored more than 19 points. That’s a normal thing for the Warriors because that’s how their offense is designed. But that’s bad news for a Blazers team that revolves its offense around Damian Lillard (12 points) and C.J. McCollum (11 points).
When Maurice Harkless is your leading scorer, we’ve got some problems.
Game 3 is on Saturday in Portland.
Tonight, we’ve got Cavs at Pacers, Raptors at Bucks and Spurs at Grizzlies.
Give me the Cavs, Bucks and Spurs.
Until tomorrow, good friends.