The story of the Thunder this year has been and will continue to be whether Russell Westbrook’s heroics are enough to carry them to wins, a question that’s been even more difficult with Victor Oladipo hurt. As Vic missed his fourth game, Russ went off for 46 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists against the Atlanta Hawks.
It was a prodigious stat line that wasn’t enough, as a controversial game-ending sequence left OKC with a 110-108 loss at home.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX6ABZkYzgc
Westbrook drove hard in from the three-point line and threw up a wild shot when he felt contact, but there was no call. Because he’s Russ, he got his own miss and tried again, but had his shot blocked on another physical sequence. On one more try, Westbrook put up a three-pointer with about two seconds remaining, and Kent Bazemore got right up in his grill, affecting his landing, but again there was no call. Westbrook was furious with officials, even as officials reviewed Steven Adams’ potential game-tying putback (it was disallowed).
Great shot by @TheOklahoman photographer Nate Billings capturing Russell Westbrook's reaction to the no-call on his final shot. pic.twitter.com/0WkzX3j6pN
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) December 20, 2016
Russell Westbrook was hot after that no-call on the final sequence. "You were standing right there. Blow the f****** whistle."
— Erik Horne (@ErikkHorne) December 20, 2016
Westbrook was yelling at the official during review. Steven Adams came over to console/pat on back, Westbrook slapped powder off the table.
— Erik Horne (@ErikkHorne) December 20, 2016
Although Westbrook refused to definitively criticize the officiating to reporters after the game — all he gave ESPN was “Uh, I’m not sure” in regards to the calls — he was clearly smarting about the tough loss, even with the Thunder missing their second-leading scorer.
“No moral victories around here, buddy,” Westbrook said.
The Hawks were short-handed as well, with Paul Millsap playing a woefully undersized center in place of the injured Dwight Howard and going for 30 points against Adams and Enes Kanter. Atlanta responded to its injuries with better balance than the Thunder could, however, and with a little help from the officials, they came out with a win both teams badly wanted.
(Via ESPN)
