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Leave it to Westbrook to be there for the Thunder in their time of need. Facing a 102-99 deficit with just 2:50 remaining, Westbrook closed the game on a personal 15-0 run to lock up a 114-102 win. Westbrook’s game-winning stretch included seven free throws (on seven attempts), two tough three-pointers, a lay-up, only one missed shot, and a steal with 50 seconds remaining that forced the Grizzlies to send him to the line. It feels like an understatement to say he took over — he needed little help from his teammates at the offensive end and made plays where none had seemed to exist (and, again, literally no one else scored).
Yet that 15-0 run covered just part of Westbrook’s impact on the game. The triple-double machine finished with 38 points (8-of-20 FG, 5-of-7 3FG, 17-of-17 FT), 13 rebounds, and 12 assists, leading four Thunder players with at least 15 points. It was also a strong night for the Thunder offense as a whole, at least when they weren’t giving away the ball. The hosts shot 47.5 percent from the field and made 13-of-26 three-pointers to offset 20 miscues (against only 21 assists).
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Those mistakes almost cost the Thunder the game. Up 58-48 at the half, OKC allowed 34 points to Memphis in the third quarter and entered the fourth at a two-point deficit. The Grizzlies shot only 3-of-19 from beyond the arc but seized on the Thunder’s mistakes. It also helped that center Marc Gasol made five of his six third-quarter field goals to give his team a steady scoring threat. Gasol finished with 31 points on 14-of-24 shooting and dished out eight assists in an All-Star performance.
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He just wasn’t Westbrook, an athlete receiving more and more attention as a singular force in sports. Sam Anderson described the Russ experience well in an excellent feature for this week’s New York Times Magazine — “total presence, total sincerity, total effort, all the time.” For the last three minutes of Friday’s game, Westbrook was all there was.
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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!Follow @FreemanEric