Views from OKC: Russell Westbrook is my hero

March 1st: Welcome to Views from OKC, Thunderous Intentions’ daily roundup of the best OKC Thunder content across the web.

New to Views? You definitely came on the right day my friend because that was some sort of win last night.

Russell Westbrook single-handedly beats Utah in the fourth

“The Thunder started this game on fire from behind the arc, making 12 straight three-pointers at one point in the first half. Hell froze over in this game, and it was really fun to watch. They ended the first half shooting 12-of-13 from downtown, and Russ began the second half by hitting a ridiculous and-1 three-pointer on what was meant to be an intentional foul. OKC finished the night with a very solid 15-of-22 from behind the arc. This uncharacteristically great shooting would typically be enough for a blowout win, but Utah did a great job of keeping the game close.”

Sure all those things happened to help the Thunder win. But Oklahoma City, in typical Oklahoma City fashion, blew a lead in the fourth quarter. But our hero Russell Westbrook scored the Thunder’s last 12 points without missing a single attempt from the field or free throw line. Westbrook hit a three, grabbed a rebound over Rudy Gobert, dribbled to the rim against four defenders and hit an and-one layup. He literally did everything to win OKC that game. And I thank him for it.

Must Read: Norris Cole, Oklahoma City Thunder reach agreement

Taj Gibson is teasing us…or is he?

“‘We’ll have to see. I would hope so,’ Gibson said. ‘I always had a sense that I had a relationship with Oklahoma City for a long time. I remember when I came here for my predraft workout, I wanted to get drafted here so bad years ago. But you never know. We’ll have to wait and see, but everybody here is great. We’ve been having good information from my agent so far.'”

If Taj Gibson is being serious about the above quote I like Oklahoma City’s chances of re-signing him. Gibson is one of the NBA’s best competitors, and at 31 he is reaching the end of his career. This young team is perfect for Gibson because it would provide him with both a contender to compete for a title now and a way for him to mentor the next generation of OKC bigs. THE MAN SAID HE ALWAYS FELT A RELATIONSHIP HERE LET ME DREAM.

Views from Twitter

Alex Abrines‘ post-game selfies are becoming the best thing about Thunder wins. Especially now that he’s starting. Last night’s edition features Abrines’ newest best friend and fellow sharpshooter: Doug McDermott. Based on this picture McDermott looks a little confused how a little kid got into the locker room right after the game. Poor Teen Wolf.

I’ve now written over 2000 words about last night (check out my five takeaways here) and have yet to mention how important Steven Adams‘ defense was in the fourth quarter. Not only did her guard an all-star shooting guard on this play, he also swatted a few balls out of Gobert’s hands to force a couple turnovers. Plays like that go unnoticed on the stat sheet and it’s up to geeky bloggers like me to highlight them. So cheers to the Big Kiwi.