Sensing that his team needed a spark, Russell Westbrook called upon himself to help lead the Thunder back from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.
Oklahoma City returned home following a recent four-game road trip and trailed the Nets by as many as 17 points but the team came out of the intermission a completely different squad and quickly got to work.
Westbrook scored 14 of his 31 total points during the second half as Paul George recorded 25 points overall on an efficient 9-of-18 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
“It starts with me,” Westbrook told ESPN after the game. “It’s my job to bring the energy every night. It was my fault in the first half and I thought we did a good job of picking up in the second half.”
The Thunder led by just two points heading into the fourth quarter but its stout defense tripped up the Nets. OKC outscored Brooklyn 28-18 and held the Nets to just 28.6 percent shooting in the final period to seal the win.
At one point, the Thunder reeled off a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter to push the lead to 16 points. Westbrook had seven points in the final frame and dished out five dimes, including one stretch where he assisted his teammates on three straight possessions.
Westbrook continued his recent offensive resurgence in the win. Since the All-Star break, the former MVP is averaging 30.1 points on 47.8 percent shooting from the field, including 38.5 percent from beyond the arc — easily his best stretch of the season.
While George found his shot on Wednesday, he has struggled to shoot since the break so the recent stretch by Westbrook has been a welcome sign for the team.
Now, if George and Westbrook can get it going at the same time, the Thunder may very well be in good shape heading into the postseason.
