Player Grades: OKC Thunder 3-0 vs Blazers behind Russell Westbrook historic triple-double

OKC Thunder makes it 3-0 versus Portland as Russell Westbrook tops another triple-double record. Player grades bring you the action of the historical night.

With a starter and a usual double-digit scoring bench player absent, the OKC Thunder had the odds stacked against them. But like one of those life-sized Jenga games, they made the correct moves to initiate a collapse on Portland tonight.

Statement time:

The OKC Thunder had a few statements to make, and they were crystal clear in the first quarter.

Paul George continued to prove himself as an MVP contender with a huge 17-point first quarter performance and ended the night with his third triple-double. Dad bod Raymond Felton had no clue what rusty meant as he hit a first-quarter buzzer-beating 3-ball. This was Felton’s first playing time since Dec. 30.

You know, I love having a healthy and boastful roster but watching these games when OKC is down in numbers it is just so riveting to see what players like Deonte Burton and Felton do when their numbers are finally called. The hunger was evident tonight in the ‘Peake as both reserves ended the night in double-figures.

The nerves set in as Dennis Schroder was listed out just before game time, but Felton soothed the worries like some old school jazz tunes. He had some fantastic transition defense and lit it up from three-point distance, shooting 60 percent in the field, 3-of-5 from deep, for his 15 points.

Deonte Burton continued to prove his worth on an NBA roster, coming out of G-League to put up 18 points and 2 blocks.

He had a HUGE and-1 play with 2:19 remaining in the third as the Blazers began to close in on Thunder’s double-digit lead. Seth Curry came back with an and-1 of his own to tighten the gap to 87-82 at the end of three.

Portland outscored OKC by 14 points in the quarter, but a 33-point fourth quarter for OKC sealed the deal.

Russell Westbrook slashes 51-year record:

Coming into the game Westbrook was tied with Wilt Chamberlain for the most consecutive triple-doubles (each had nine).

With 9 assists Russ dribbled around the top of the key, did a little one-two step and tossed it away to the hot handed Paul George. With no hesitation, George let it fly straight through the net to give Westbrook his tenth consecutive triple-double, breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s previous record set in 1968 of nine straight. Westbrook sits at No. 3 all-time for most triple-doubles with 126 in his career.

Another game for OKC Thunder, and another record broken.

With that let’s examine how each OKC Thunder player performed.