BOSTON – “He’s a point guard. This is NOT normal,” a Boston Celtics fan said to himself, with simultaneous lament and amazement. He was looking up at the scoreboard as the Russell Westbrook lined up his 14th made free throw of the night and his 14th triple-double of the season, capping a 45-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist masterpiece, and an exhilarating 117-112 Thunder victory.
Down by four with 3:37 to go, Westbrook led the Thunder on a pivotal 10-0 run over the ensuing 144 seconds of game time. The burst included an Andre Roberson to Jerami Grant dunk in the half court, a beautifully drawn-up after-timeout-play that got Westbrook an and-one layup, a Westbrook steal and score in transition and then a 27-foot three-pointer from the left wing.
“It’s important for me to know how to close games,” Westbrook said. “I watch film and figure out the best way to close games for my team. Tonight was a night where some shots fell and we got the shots we wanted.”
After Boston responded with a three-point play of their own, Westbrook came back down the floor and nailed another three from the exact same spot to make it 113-107 with 46.5 seconds to go, a resounding exclamation point on Westbrook’s 13-for-25 shooting night that included five three-pointers.
“The two threes late were big for us but also very hard shots too,” Thunder Head Coach Billy Donovan said of Westbrook’s crunch-time buckets. “He was balanced, felt good about them and it was good to see him knock them down.”
“(Westbrook) was really efficient. That’s the thing we talk about,” Donovan continued. “He didn’t take a lot of shots but the shots he took he made and he took good ones. He obviously had some tough ones he made and he got to the free throw line.”
While Westbrook snapped a streak of 230 games that the Celtics hadn’t allowed a triple-double, it wasn’t just his offensive heroics that lifted the Thunder to victory in the closing minutes, however. The Thunder’s defense clamped down behind Roberson and Steven Adams’ versatility and tenacity. Boston’s Isaiah Thomas, who had scored 15 of the first 17 Celtics points of the fourth quarter, scored just three points over the final 6:41 of the game.
“We did a great job on both ends of the floor,” Thunder forward Domas Sabonis said. “Steven (Adams) did a great job in the last two or three minutes. That helped us to get stops.”
The first three quarters were the same type of dog fight as the fourth quarter, with both teams making dramatic runs with individual players shining in separate moments. The Thunder’s second unit, which racked up 37 points compared to Boston’s 19, was buoyed by Enes Kanter’s post play. The Turkish center did much of his damage in the first half when the Thunder was struggling and he finished the night with 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting.
The man who stole the show in the first half, however, was Sabonis. The Lithuanian stretch forward has experienced the typical rookie adversity, but Donovan and company have shown their confidence and the perseverance paid off tonight. Sabonis started the game shooting 7-for-7 from the floor, knocked down four of his six three-pointers and finished with a career-best 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting.
“He got enthusiastic after the third (three-pointer), smirked Steven Adams, alluding to Sabonis’ normally stoic nature. “That’s good, I hadn’t seen that before.”
“My teammates were finding me open looks and I was just taking advantage of them,” Sabonis shrugged. “It was just fun out there. The most important thing was that we got the win.”
Watch: Domas on Fire
Highlights: Thunder at Celtics - Dec. 23, 2016 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
By the Numbers
7-for-7 – The shooting start for Domas Sabonis tonight, as the rookie forward scored a career-high 20 points thanks to four three-pointers
37-19 – The Thunder’s edge in bench points on the night, led by Enes Kanter’s 20 on 8-for-13 shooting
230 – Consecutive games the Celtics had gone without allowing a triple-double, the most in the NBA, before Russell Westbrook snapped that streak with a 45-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist effort
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The Last Word
“When you’re on the road playing against a good team, there’s always going to be adversity and different runs at different points in time in the game… It was good to see our guys rebound the way they did and get back control of what we needed to do. Generally when the momentum changes on the road that late in the game, it’s hard to get it back. I give our guys credit for finding a way to get it back.” – Head Coach Billy Donovan