Westbrook records league-leading 10th triple-double in loss to Mavericks
Russell Westbrook helped his MVP chances Wednesday night. But it wasn't enough to help the Oklahoma City Thunder's playoff bid.
Westbrook recorded his league-leading 10th triple-double of the season in a thrilling 135-131 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Thunder point guard had 31 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, but missed two potential game-tying 3-pointers in the waning seconds of the contest.
He tried to draw contact and missed an off-balance shot with seven seconds remaining, corralled his own rebound and bricked another desperation three from the corner. Westbrook filled the stat sheet once again, but shot a miserable 10-of-32 from the field, including 2-of-11 from long range.
Chandler Parsons hit a turnaround jumper to give the Mavericks a three-point lead before Westbrook's two 3-point attempts, and dropped 13 in the fourth quarter on 6-of-6 shooting from the field. He finished with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Monta Ellis, who returned from a one-game absence, dropped a team-high 26 points, while Tyson Chandler added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Oklahoma City remains two games up on the New Orleans Pelicans for eighth place in the Western Conference. The Pelicans were visiting the lowly Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.
Enes Kanter continued his strong play since joining the Thunder, scoring a career-high 30 points on 9-of-13 shooting with a game-high 16 rebounds.