PG, Russ combine for 5th-highest teammate output in last 34 years
Paul George's floater with 0.8 seconds left in double overtime didn't just win the game for the Oklahoma City Thunder in their Friday night tilt against the Utah Jazz. It also put George and Russell Westbrook in some rarefied company.
With George scoring 45 points and Westbrook adding 43, the pair's 88 combined points tied for the fifth-highest single-game scoring output by two NBA teammates since 1985-86, according to Sports Reference.
It was a more equitable distribution than that of record-holders Kobe Bryant (81) and Smush Parker (13), who combined for 94 points against the Toronto Raptors in 2006.
George and Westbrook also became just the eighth pair of teammates in that time frame to score 40 points in the same game. Westbrook was already on the list twice alongside former Thunder teammate Kevin Durant.
| Date | Players (points) |
|---|---|
| Feb. 23/19 | Paul George (45) Russell Westbrook (43) |
| June 13/16 | LeBron James (41) Kyrie Irving (41)* |
| Mar. 23/12 | Russell Westbrook (45) Kevin Durant (40) |
| Feb. 19/12 | Kevin Durant (51) Russell Westbrook (40) |
| May 6/00 | Reggie Miller (40) Jalen Rose (40)* |
| Feb. 18/96 | Michael Jordan (44) Scottie Pippen (40) |
| May 5/95 | Clyde Drexler (41) Hakeem Olajuwon (40)* |
| Apr. 30/88 | Sleepy Floyd (42) Hakeem Olajuwon (41)* |
* denotes postseason game
George and Westbrook are the fourth pair of teammates since the NBA/ABA merger to each post 40 points, five rebounds, and five assists in the same game.