Russell Westbrook’s teammates really let him down Friday night.
Westbrook missed out would have been a record-breaking triple-double this season because of a woeful shooting night by the Thunder in a 120-99 loss to the Suns.
The Thunder guard finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds, but eight assists as his teammates missed several shots after getting a dish from their MVP candidate. The biggest culprit was center Steven Adams, who either missed shots or made an additional pass. Adams, along with Doug McDermott, went just 4 of 10 from the floor.
It was just that kind of night for the Thunder, who shot 36.6 percent. Westbrook was not immune to the poor shooting night. He missed his first 11 shots and finished 6 of 25, including just 2 of 12 from behind the 3-point line.
While Westbrook failed to break a tie with Hall of Fame guard Oscar Robertson for most triple-doubles in a season, he did join Robertson as the only players in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season. Westbrook entered Friday’s game needing six assists to ensure he’d have at least a 10-assist average.
Westbrook left the game with 2:33 remaining after he was intentionally fouled by the Suns, who were intent on not allowing him to set the record.
Westbrook will have three more opportunities to get that elusive triple-double with a game against the Timberwolves on Tuesday sandwiched between a pair of games versus the Nuggets on Sunday and then the regular-season finale next Wednesday.
Studs of the night
As cold as Westbrook and the Thunder were, Suns guard Devin Booker continued his strong finish. The 20-year-old scored 37 points on 13-of-29 shooting to lead the way in the blowout victory.
San Antonio’s Bryn Forbes came out of nowhere to score a career-high 27 points off the bench in a 102-89 win over the Mavericks. The rookie from Michigan State had averaged just 1.9 points in 33 games and his previous career high was eight points.
Duds of the night
The Thunder players weren’t the only ones who had a bad Friday. Andrew Wiggins may have scored 25 points for the Timberwolves in their 120-113 loss to the Jazz, but the 6-8 forward did it on 8-of-21 shooting and missed all three of his 3-point attempts. He had five rebounds without an assist and was minus-15 for the game.
How bad are things with the Knicks? Center Kyle O’Quinn was taking out his own teammates against the Grizzlies. The fourth-year center took a swing at a Marc Gasol shot, but missed the ball and instead hit Marshall Plumlee right in the face. O’Quinn was called for a foul and Plumlee went to the bench to ice his face. He did return and finished with four points in the 101-88 loss. O’Quinn had nine points to go with three rebounds and four fouls.
Hawks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. scored two of his 22 points in the 114-100 win over the Cavaliers in emphatic fashion with a thunderous dunk off a nice dish from Ersan Ilyasova.
Clippers (48-31) at Spurs (61-18), 8:30 p.m. ET — The Clippers are fifth in the Western Conference, just behind the the Jazz (49-30) for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. It’s an important game for Doc Rivers’ team, but L.A. is going to need big nights from its big three of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan to steal a victory at AT&T Center, where the Spurs are nearly unbeatable.
