Russell Westbrook made NBA history on Wednesday night. (AP) At a certain point this season, the mere existence of a Russell Westbrook triple-double stopped being interesting. The Oklahoma City Thunder superstar has put up so many in 2016-17 that a line of at least 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists wasn’t enough to move the needle. His triple-double average and raw total were still impressive, but it would take a really special game to draw attention. That’s the thing about an average — no matter how incredible it is, it eventually becomes the new norm.
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Thankfully, Westbrook keeps coming through with those historically relevant nights. His latest came on Wednesday against the visiting Philadelphia 76ers. Westbrook’s 35th triple-double didn’t feature huge numbers — he put up a modest (for him) 18 points, 14 assists, and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes during a 122-97 blowout win for the Thunder. But Westbrook went 6-of-6 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line to get his points, and no player had ever managed to log a triple-double without missing a shot:
Per Elias, Westbrook is the first player in NBA history to record a triple-double going perfect from the floor and the free throw line.
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) March 23, 2017
Curtis Harris of Pro Hoops History noted that Wilt Chamberlain had triple-doubles without missing a field goal on three occasions in the ’60s, but the career 51.1 percent shooter was unsurprisingly unable to make it work at the line.

It’s always a notable achievement when someone does something for the first time in NBA history. Even Westbrook, who regularly says he doesn’t think much about his stats and cares much more about wins, was a little shocked at his historic performance:
Russ is impressed with his latest accomplishment pic.twitter.com/Trj1MnR8as
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 23, 2017
The Sixers weren’t so surprised. Point guard T.J. McConnell knew he was going to be in for a hard night:
T.J. McConnell on guarding Westbrook: "He averages a triple-double for Christ's sake, so it's tough for us to stop him."
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) March 23, 2017
In truth, Westbrook was far from the only Thunder player to dominate on Wednesday. Enes Kanter (24 points on 8-of-9 FG) and Victor Oladipo (18 points on 7-of-13 FG) also scored in double figures as OKC shot 54.5 percent from the field. Sixers forward Dario Saric summed up the character of the game quite well:
Saric on the Thunder: "I can like say it was like bar fight but they were like only guys in that bar who really destroyed us."

— Jessica Camerato (@JCameratoCSN) March 23, 2017
Indeed.
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As ever, though, the focus is on Westbrook. If he plays all of the Thunder’s remaining 11 games, he will need to total just 85 assists and 76 rebounds to hit his 82-game triple-double average. Given the pace he’s set this season, those numbers all well within reach.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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