What an afternoon it was in Denver on Sunday. The Denver Nuggets hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder and their superstar point guard Russell Westbrook at Pepsi Center.
It turned out to be a special kind of afternoon in front of 20 thousand fans. Westbrook has been on a historic tear this season averaging a triple-double and also leading the league in scoring. He did not disappoint the fans in Denver either — they most definitely got their money's worth.
Close game all the way to the end
Coming into this game the Nuggets were hoping they can stay alive in the Western Conference playoff race with a win against the Thunder.
It was a close first quarter as these two teams went back and fourth in the first 12 minutes. The Thunder were up 27-26 after the first period. Denver took the lead early in the second quarter and finished the first half with a one-point 53-52.
By the time third quarter ended, the Nuggets increased their lead to 10 points. It was 91-81 for the home team after three periods of playing time. Midway through the fourth quarter the Nuggets held their biggest lead of the game with 14 points, it was 99-85. But then Russell Westbrook showed and took over.
Westbrook's night
He scored his team's last 15 points in the final 3:35 of the game including a game winning shot at the buzzer. The score was 105-103 for the home team with 2.7 seconds left in the game.
Thunder had posession and they gave the ball to their superstar. He came up big in the clutch again, scored the three-pointer for the win as time expired.
It was his 50th point of the game. Westbrook finished the game with 50 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. This was his 42nd triple-double of the season and he now owns NBA's all time record for most triple doubles in a single season.
He now also becomes the first player in NBA history with three 50-point triple doubles. After the game was over Russell spoke to the media: "I practice that shot every day in pregame, from that same spot. I definitely felt comfortable shooting that shot. I've been blessed and I'm very thankful to the Man above. It was fun, pure adrenaline with that game-winning shot."
For the Thunder Enes Kanter also helped in this win, he finished the game with 15 points and eight rebounds.
Steven Adams added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Nuggets on the other hand are now officially out of this year's playoffs. Danilo Gallinari led them in scoring in Sunday's loss with 34 points and 10 rebounds, while Nikola Jokic added 23 points and six rebounds.
