Russel Westbrook triple-double as Thunder down Jazz
Russell Westbrook bagged a second consecutive triple double as the Oklahoma City Thunder staged a late rally to sink the Utah Jazz on Dec. 5.
Westbrook, who had guided the Thunder to a victory over San Antonio on Sunday with his seventh triple of the season, bagged his eighth of the campaign in a 100-94 win at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The reigning NBA MVP finished with 34 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists as OKC improved to 11-12 in the Western Conference standings.
Paul George had 21 points and New Zealand center Steven Adams 20 while Carmelo Anthony added 14 for the home side.
Donovan Mitchell led the scoring for Utah with 31 points while Joe Ingles had 16 points.
Elsewhere on Dec. 5, Devin Booker’s scintillating run of recent form came to an unhappy end as the Phoenix Suns prodigy was carried off the court in his team’s defeat to the Toronto Raptors.
Booker, who had scored 46 points on Dec. 4 and 38 points on Dec. 2, was helped away at the end of the fourth quarter after bagging 19 points.
Toronto claimed a 126-113 win to improve to 15-7 as Phoenix fell to 9-17. Kyle Lowry was the key figure for the Raptors, finishing with 20 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.
The Raptors were in control throughout, leading by 18 points heading into the fourth quarter.
Phoenix rallied to cut the lead to 10 with 8min 44sec to play, but Lowry pushed Toronto back in front by 14 with a three-pointer with just over five minutes left.
DeMar DeRozan was also influential for Toronto, bagging 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Serge Ibaka had 19 points, while OG Anunoby (16), C.J. Miles had (15), Jakob Poeltl (13), Fred VanVleet (13) also made double figures.
“I think it makes it a lot easier, which makes it a lot more fun,” DeRozan said. “Everybody gets a chance to touch the ball, you don’t necessarily have to work so hard and it’s fun. ... With that, we still missed a lot of shots but it’s something we’re still learning.”
Phoenix team officials meanwhile later said Booker appeared to have suffered an adductor strain.
“I don’t know how serious, or when we’ll be able to evaluate,” Suns interim coach Jay Triano said.
