Just four days after the city of Phoenix hosted the NCAA championship game between Gonzaga and North Carolina, basketball fans in Phoenix will have another opportunity to possibly witness a historic night. The Phoenix Suns will host the Oklahoma City Thunder at their Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. It is expected that there will be no empty seats in the arena considering the way Russell Westbrook has been performing this season. He will be in the spotlight once again as he tries to break Oscar Robertson's record for most triple-doubles in a single season.
Russell Westbrook on a mission this season
Westbrook already tied Robertson's record with his 41st triple-double of the season coming in the game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night. He finished that game with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists in just 27 minutes of playing time. The following night (Wednesday) OKC played on the road against the Grizzlies and Westbrook was one rebound shy of his 42nd triple-double of the season. He ended up with 45 points, nine rebounds and ten assists.
Considering the way he's been playing this season overall and especially against the Phoenix Suns, it's safe to say that the fans in Phoenix will have their money's worth once again. Coming into Friday night's game Westbrook is averaging 31.8 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists, and in three matchups this season versus the Suns Westbrook's numbers are even more impressive.
In those three matchups he's averaging 41.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and 13.7 assists. He also recorded a career-high 22 assists in a 114-101 win against the Suns earlier this season in December. Having said all that, it is more than obvious that the Suns will have a tough time again guarding Westbrook.
MVP award on the way?
The Oklahoma City Thunder will try to win their fourth straight road game tonight for the first time this season.
They are now in the sixth spot in the Western Conference standings. With four games remaining in the regular season, OKC will try to move up in the standings and possibly secure home court advantage in the first round. They are 45-33 so far this season and Russell Westbrook is the main reason why this team is doing so well.
He will end the season averaging a triple-double, something that hasn't been done in more than 50 years. Westbrook also leads the league in scoring with 31.8 points per game and he is third in the league with 10.4 assists per game. After Kevin Durant won the MVP award back in the 2013-2014 season playing for the Thunder, it seems like another MVP award is heading to Oklahoma this year.
