Inside the ‘Peake: 3 Observations from OKC Thunder Game 5 historic night
By Alex Mcewen
Russell Bestbrook
Russell Westbrook has played 385 games inside Chesapeake Energy Arena. He has been a part of some spectacular games and some atrocious outings. In Game 5 Westbrook might have played his best game inside the ‘Peake.
At first glance the numbers back it up, upon further inspection you’ll notice he attempted 39 shots scoring 45 points, pulling down 15 rebounds, and registering (for him) a pedestrian seven assists.
Westbrook’s performance goes far beyond the numbers. He was in the huddle during timeouts rallying his team to fight back. He picked the team up and essentially said follow my lead. That is exactly what the rest of the OKC Thunder did.
After falling behind by as many 25-points the Thunder needed every one of those arbitrary numbers (wink wink) in order to force Game 6. Paul George deserves some praise as well because he and Westbrook combined for the most points scored by a Thunder duo in a playoff game.
From the 8:34 mark of the 3Q when Jazz led 71-46 OKC Thunder outscored Utah 61 to 28! Now THAT definitely was a heat check! #ThunderUp
— Tamberlyn Richardson (@TTOTambz) April 26, 2018
Thunder Nation had been waiting the entire series for Westbrook to be the best player on the court. In Game 5 he was. A vintage Westbrook takeover was exactly what the doctor ordered to cure the Thunder’s ailments.
Fred Katz noted Raymond Felton addressed the team at halftime asking “Do you want it?”. In the third, it took Oklahoma City a moment to respond to Felton’s question. In the end, Felton received the answer to his question, ‘yes the Thunder did indeed want it’.
Next: Round 1 complete series hub article compilation
That’s it for me today Thunder Nation enjoy the weekend. Regardless of what happens in Game 6 tonight. Be proud of what this team accomplished on Wednesday night because OKC could have easily mailed it in, instead led by Westbrook they put together a comeback for the ages.