Russell Westbrook posts NBA's first 20/20/20 game for 51 years as Oklahoma City Thunder rout Los Angeles Lakers
Warriors rout Nuggets to strengthen grip on No 1 seed; Harden scores 36 as Rockets hammer Kings; Spurs beat Hawks to keep pace with OKC
Wednesday 3 April 2019 09:15, UK
Russell Westbrook had 20 points, 20 rebounds and 21 assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 119-103 home win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
Los Angeles Lakers 103-119 Oklahoma City Thunder
Russell Westbrook had 20 points, 20 rebounds and 21 assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 119-103 home win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
It was just the second time in league history a player had at least 20 points, 20 rebounds and 20 assists in a game. Wilt Chamberlain had 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists in a game on February 2, 1968.
Westbrook finished off the feat in the final minute, nabbing Lance Stephenson's miss with 41 seconds left, drawing a large ovation from the crowd.
Whether or not Westbrook would cap off the feat was the only question down the stretch, as Oklahoma City enjoyed a rare chance to savour a win during what has been a rough second half of the season.
Westbrook clinched the triple-double - his 31st of the season - with 4:38 left in the third quarter, hitting a contested jumper. A few seconds later, after a Westbrook steal, his breakaway dunk lifted the Thunder to a 15-point lead.
After starting the game 2-of-14 from the field, Westbrook hit his next five shots to help Oklahoma City separate with a 35-point third quarter. Jerami Grant led the Thunder with 22 points while Paul George had 19.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Lakers with 23 points. Los Angeles were once again without much of their star power, with LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram among those missing the game due to injuries.
Denver Nuggets 102-116 Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors took a big step toward securing the top seed in the Western Conference, overcoming the ejection of Kevin Durant to crush the Denver Nuggets 116-102.
The win gave the Warriors (53-24) a two-game lead over the Nuggets (51-26). The Warriors also earned a potential tie-breaker by virtue of their third straight win over the Nuggets after an October defeat, claiming the season series 3-1.
In a marquee matchup of big men, DeMarcus Cousins outplayed Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, contributing 28 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots, helping the Warriors to their fourth win their last five games.
Four of the five Warriors starters recorded five or more assists, helping Golden State compile 36 on 50 baskets. The Warriors also blocked 11 shots, snatched 11 steals and outscored the Nuggets 39-21 from beyond the three-point arc.
Durant had 21 points and six assists in 21 minutes before getting bang-bang technical fouls in the third quarter, earning him an ejection from the game.
Golden State didn't skip a beat, with Stephen Curry contributing 17 points, Klay Thompson 13, Kevon Looney 10 and Draymond Green six to complement nine rebounds and nine assists. Curry, who shot 5-for-10 on three-pointers, had five assists and three steals.
Jamal Murray had 17 points to lead Denver, who lost their second straight and fourth in its last six games. Jokic was limited to 10 points, five rebounds and five assists. He also had six turnovers.
Houston Rockets 130-105 Sacramento Kings
James Harden recorded his 32nd double-double as the visiting Houston Rockets completed a sweep of their four-game season series with the Sacramento Kings with a 130-105 win.
Two days following the murder of his friend, rapper Nipsey Hussle, Harden paired 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting with 10 assists, as the Rockets cruised to a wire-to-wire victory.
Harden sank 7-of-12 three-pointers for Houston (50-28), who led by as many as 30 points while improving to 17-4 since the All-Star break to move a half-game ahead of Portland in pursuit of the third seed in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers own the tie-breaker should the teams finish with identical records.
Eric Gordon added 19 points, Danuel House Jr scored 19 off the bench and PJ Tucker chipped in 13 points, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer that gave the Rockets a 62-46 lead at the intermission.
Rookie forward Marvin Bagley Jr posted 19 points and eight rebounds for Sacramento (38-40), who have dropped 13 of 21 games since the break. The Kings were eliminated from postseason contention with a 119-108 loss in Houston on Saturday.
Harden had 23 points and four assists at the break; Gordon and Tucker combined for 21 points. Buddy Hield scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half and was the only Kings player to reach double figures prior to the intermission.
Houston extended to a 59-46 lead with 1:21 left in the first half when Harden scored twice in a 15-second span, with Chris Paul recording a steal following the initial Harden basket and providing the assist on the second.
During one three-plus minute stretch in the third, Harden recorded two assists and three triples, capping that run with a four-point play that stretched the advantage to 89-68 with 3:21 remaining in the period.
Atlanta Hawks 111-117 San Antonio Spurs
Derrick White gave San Antonio the lead for good with a short jumper just past the midpoint of the fourth quarter and Marco Belinelli bombed in his second three-pointer of the final period to create a cushion as the Spurs rallied past the visiting Atlanta Hawks 117-111.
White, who hit 10 of his 12 shots, finished with 23 points and DeMar DeRozan went for 29, as the Spurs (45-33) kept pace with Oklahoma City (45-33) in their duel for seventh place in the Western Conference. The Thunder wrapped up a 119-103 win over the Los Angeles Lakers earlier in the evening.
The Spurs trailed by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter before rallying into the lead during a stretch in which White scored seven straight points.
After he hit a three-pointer to close the gap to 102-101 with 5:23 remaining, White put San Antonio ahead with a nine-footer 30 seconds later. White scored again another 30 seconds later to make it a three-point game, before Belinelli's triple at the 3:39 mark put San Antonio up 108-104.
The Hawks later got as close as two, but White added two more hoops and Bryn Forbes nailed a crushing three-pointer with 1:07 to go, allowing the Spurs to record the key win.
DeRozan's game-high point total included 15-for-16 at the free throw line. San Antonio outscored Atlanta 19-13 at the line.
On the strength of 5-for-7 shooting on three-pointers, Forbes chipped in with 19 points, while LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 and Patty Mills 14 for the Spurs, who were coming off a home loss to Sacramento.
Kent Bazemore poured in 26 points, 15 on 3-pointers, off the bench for the Hawks, who were swept by the Spurs in the two-game season series. Alex Len added 21 points, Trae Young 15 and Kevin Huerter 13 for the Hawks, who lost for just the second time in their last six games.
