OGTW: The Ultimate Russ Mode Game vs. Washington
What if you only had One Game To Watch? After years of following the Oklahoma City Thunder – hundreds of wins, buzzer-beating shots and historic moments – and you could only re-watch one game in Thunder history…which would it be? This week, our writers will answer that difficult question and relive some of their favorite memories. Their responses might surprise you. (By the way, you can check out the previous parts from Monday, Tuesday , Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday)
Do you know what “Russ Mode “is? I wrote about it last year. It’s essentially Russell Westbrook being Russell Westbrook, an aggressive point guard who doesn’t seem to care about the well-being of others or himself.
Do you know what “Ultimate Russ Mode” is? It’s what happened on January 21, 2015, when the Oklahoma City Thunder traveled to Washington to play the Wizards. Tied up at 103 with 3.6 seconds left in overtime, Westbrook took an inbounds pass from Anthony Morrow and ran right through the almost nonexistent Wizards defense, scoring an easy lay-up with .8 seconds remaining.
That’s when Ultimate Russ Mode happened. A giddy Westbrook went skipping and chest-thumping right in front of the Wizards bench as the Washington players looked on in shock and horror. It’s quite honestly my favorite picture of Westbrook on the internet.
The game itself was a memorable one. Kevin Durant and Westbrook combined for 66 points to stave off the well-balanced attack of the Wizards. It was the epitome of Scott Brooks–Iso ball as just about every play in overtime was a one-on-one situation with Westbrook or Durant. The only exception was an ill-advised 3-pointer by Dion Waiters, because Dion has to get his shots in.
The Thunder led by seven with five minutes remaining when the team hit a cold streak. Durant missed and then Reggie Jackson, who was completely disinterested in doing anything to help the team by this point in the season, took some bad 3-pointers that missed. Washington crawled back into the game behind six straight points from John Wall and a Paul Pierce 3-pointer, which was assisted by Wall.
Another Pierce 3-pointer gave the Wizards a two-point lead with 34.9 seconds remaining, but Westbrook tied things up with a driving lay-up with 26.9 seconds left. After some great defense on Wall that forced the Wizards into a shot clock violation, the Thunder got the ball back with a chance to win it with 2 seconds left in regulation. The Thunder went to their tried and true “Durant turnaround three” but KD was off the mark, sending the game into overtime.
Overtime showed why Durant and Westbrook are one of the most feared duos in the league, combining for all of the teams 13 points. It also showed the lack of ball movement prevalent in Brooks’ system, but hopefully that’s a thing of the past. It also showed just how little help Durant and Westbrook got during the game as the only other player in double figures was Anthony Morrow with 10. Serge Ibaka, usually good for 12-15 points a game, had a miserable night offensively with only seven points while Jackson didn’t contribute a single basket.
Aside from the Durant/Westbrook show, Thunder fans got a taste of what it’ll be like when the team travels to D.C. this season as “KD2DC” signs were out in full force despite the fact that Durant still had a year remaining on his contract. Now, in his contract year, expect a bigger turnout for Durant’s one trip to Washington than for the actual election.
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This game probably wouldn’t make a Top 10 Best Thunder Games in History list. We all know that Durant and Westbrook are great and we’ve seen them combine for 60+ games multiple times throughout their careers together. It wasn’t a playoff game and it wasn’t even a particularly well-played game. In fact, it was a pretty frustrating game for Thunder fans, especially with all the “Durant 4 President” cutaways.
This is my “One Game To Watch” though simply because it’s Ultimate Russ Mode. Let’s face it, Westbrook isn’t the most clutch player in the league. He has an alpha personality, but there’s a reason why Durant usually takes the last shot of the game and there’s a reason why OKC lost so many close games last year with Westbrook as their closer. But when Westbrook does make a game-winning basket, especially one that came as easy as it did, it’s a joy to watch him celebrate. He doesn’t pop his jersey or pump his fist or put his hand in the air. He literally skips with a big smile on his face as fans of the opposing team can do nothing but stare on in anger.