Friday night was an exciting night at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. The home side OKC took on their Western Conference rivals, the San Antonio Spurs. It was also a matchup of two of the league's biggest stars, Russell Westbrook and Kawhi Leonard.
A matchup that did not disappoint
Both teams and both stars came ready to play. Russell Westbrook, league's leading MVP candidate, came into this game with 38 triple-doubles this season. Oklahoma City are 31-7 when "Russ" gets a triple-double.
The home team started off well, leading by 9 (25-16) at the end of the first quarter, and at halftime, it was 54-41 in favor of OKC.
Midway through third quarter, they were up by as many as 20 points (68-48) and it looked like an easy win for Westbrook's team. But in the fourth quarter things changed. Spurs started playing better defense and tied the game at 87-87 midway through the fourth quarter. The Spurs never led until the final minute when LaMarcus Aldridge's dunk gave them a 96-95 lead with 20.7 seconds left in the game. Kawhi Leonard's points with 5.8 seconds left in the game sealed the deal for the Spurs.
39th triple-double of the season for Westbrook
OKC's superstar point guard ended the game with 32 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists, but it wasn't enough. He now needs two more triple-doubles to tie Oscar Robertson's all-time single-season record of 41.
After the game, he said: "They were just playing with more sense of urgency than we did. Guys have to be ready to step up."
Victor Oladipo added 16 points for the Thunder and Steven Adams scored 13.
For the Spurs, Kawhi Leonard scored 28 and pulled down eight rebounds. Pau Gasol helped with 17 points, while LaMarcus Aldridge finished the game with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich had this to say after the game was over: "He's fun to watch (Russell Westbrook), he's kinda out of control but fun".
Spurs remain at the number two spot in the West, while the Thunder are currently sixth. San Antonio will host the Utah Jazz on Sunday and OKC will also be playing on Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets.
