Playoff P arrives early as OKC Thunder best Rockets in thriller – player grades
Player Grades
RUSSELL WESTBROOK. A+. . PG. Oklahoma City Thunder
Although it will be Paul George’s triple which everyone recalls from the big win the 3-point shot Russell Westbrook delivered with 5:24 remaining to complete the comeback was equally important. He hit a second deep shot with 20.2 seconds on the clock to once again pull the Thunder within a point.
Then with time running out, he drove the lane with 9.7 seconds remaining to cut the Rockets lead to one. That dunk came the play prior to James Harden going to the line. Few in the Association could get to the rim that quickly to score and that bucket gave the Thunder the quick score they needed to keep the option of winning alive.
A triple-double and the game-winning dime #WhyNot? pic.twitter.com/jBHz2eXIVT
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) April 10, 2019
On the night Russell Westbrook got his 33rd triple-double of the season with 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Paul George on Westbrook - "he leaves EVERYTHING on the floor. Like I said the reason I came back here is I WANT TO PLAY WITH A GUY LIKE THAT!" You know what Paul - regardless of what some silly poll says so do a TON of other guys. #ThunderUp
— Thunderous Intentions (@thunderousint) April 10, 2019
Like PG spoke to in the post game interview – when you have someone to play with like Westbrook who leaves it on the court every night – how can you not want to play with someone of that ilk. (That’s not his exact wording but you get the gist). George also said Westbrook was the reason he returned to OKC because he is the type of player George wants to play with.