Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell WestbrookSue Ogrocki/The Associated Press
Russell Westbrook donned a mask and played like a superhero.
The All-Star Game MVP set career highs with 49 points and 16 rebounds, and added 10 assists for his fourth consecutive triple-double, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 123-118 in overtime Wednesday night.
Westbrook wore the facial protection after having a bone in his right cheek fractured last Friday against Portland. He had surgery Saturday and missed Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
He returned to the lineup in style. Westbrook became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1989 to have four consecutive triple-doubles, according to STATS, and the first since Jordan that year to have back-to-back triple-doubles with at least 40 points. It was the most points by any player with a triple-double since Larry Bird also scored 49 in 1992.
Jordan had seven straight triple-doubles and 10 in an 11-game span in 1989 for Chicago.
"It's definitely a blessing," Westbrook said, "but more importantly, I think it's important that we're winning."
He said the mask was little more than a nuisance.
"It was OK," he said. "It was weird. Had to keep wiping it. It was a total big process of trying to keep everything from fogging up. That's not going to stop me. My job is to come out and trying to lead my team."
It was Westbrook's sixth triple-double of the season and 14th of his career.
"It's amazing watching him play," 76ers guard Jason Richardson said. "You've got to take your hats off to this guy. He takes no plays off. He plays hard on both ends of the court. He rebounds. It's amazing to see a guy who has that much passion about winning."
Isaiah Canaan had career highs of 31 points and eight 3-pointers, and Richardson added 29 points for the 76ers.
Westbrook clinched the triple-double on a pass to D.J. Augustin for a 3-pointer that put the Thunder ahead 113-110 in overtime. Westbrook's pull-up jumper with 38.9 seconds to play put the Thunder up by three, then Westbrook made the first of two free throws with 30.3 seconds left to make it 120-116.
Richardson's two free throws made it a two-point game.
Westbrook made the second of two free throws with 21.9 seconds left to make it 121-118. The 76ers turned the ball over, and Westbrook made two more free throws to clinch the game.
Canaan was 5 of 5 on 3-pointers early to help the 76ers take a 32-17 lead with 3:30 left in the first quarter. The Thunder responded with a 15-0 run to tie the game, and Westbrook found Mitch McGary for a layup as time expired in the quarter to give the Thunder a 37-34 lead.
The 76ers led 59-56 at halftime, and Canaan's eighth 3 pushed Philadelphia's lead to 75-60 before Oklahoma City's bench rallied late in the quarter and cut the deficit to 90-84 by the end of the period. Nick Collison's layup tied it at 90 early in the fourth quarter.
The Thunder led 93-90 when Richardson went for a layup. McGary blocked it, and Richardson got a technical for arguing. Augustin's technical free throw was the last point of an 18-0 run for Oklahoma City.
"The bench did a great job of coming in, making shots, locking down defensively, sped the pace up a little bit and made some big shots," Westbrook said.
Westbrook made back-to baskets to push the lead to 108-99, the second with the crowd on its feet. Philadelphia called timeout, and the crowd broke into its loudest MVP chant yet for Westbrook.
Hollis Thompson's 3-pointer with 55.2 seconds to play cut Oklahoma City's lead to 110-107, and Richardson's 3 with 27.1 seconds left tied the score, sending the game into overtime. Westbrook scored 10 points in the extra period.
"For those of you, including myself, that thought Russell might need a couple of games to get used to wearing a mask, we were wrong," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "He was all over the floor."
GRIZZLIES 102, ROCKETS 100
HOUSTON – Marc Gasol made a jumper with 0.1 seconds left to lift Memphis past Houston.
With the game tied, Gasol blocked James Harden's layup with 6.4 seconds left to give the Grizzlies the ball back for his winner. Gasol finished with 21 points.
Courtney Lee made a pair of free throws with about a minute remaining to give Memphis a 100-98 lead. Terrence Jones tied it with a hook shot seconds later, and Gasol missed on the other end to set up the final sequence.
The win extended the Grizzlies lead over second-place Houston in the Southwest Division and tied the season series at 2-2.
Jones had 21 points and Harden scored 18 in his return after a one-game suspension for kicking LeBron James on Sunday.
PELICANS 88, PISTONS 85
NEW ORLEANS – Anthony Davis had 39 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks in his first game back from a right shoulder sprain, and New Orleans won for the sixth time in seven games.
Davis hit two mid-range jumpers in the last 1:14, the second with 18 seconds left, to hold off Detroit in a frenetic game that was close throughout the second half.
In only his third season, Davis has a Pelicans career-record 437 blocks. His seventh of the game gave him the record, surpassing David West's mark of 435.
Tyreke Evans had 21 points and nine assists for New Orleans.
Jodie Meeks scored 20 points for Detroit.
WARRIORS 102, BUCKS 93
OAKLAND – Stephen Curry shook off a rough shooting night to make three straight 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter that helped the Golden State Warriors beat Milwaukee in their return from a season-high, six-game road trip.
Draymond Green had 23 points and 12 rebounds on his 25th birthday, Klay Thompson scored 17 and Shaun Livingston added 16 for the Warriors, who improved to an NBA-best 25-2 at home.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Michael Carter-Williams scored 16 points each for the Bucks, who have lost six of seven and went winless on a four-game trip.
After playing 10 of the previous 11 on the road, Golden State was locked in a close game until Curry found his shooting stroke in the fourth quarter. He finished with 19 points and 11 assists.
HEAT 100, LAKERS 94
MIAMI – Dwyane Wade scored 25 points and added six assists, Hassan Whiteside grabbed 25 rebounds and Miami rallied to beat Los Angeles.
Wade's last two assists set up Whiteside for crucial scores in the final moments. The Heat held on to the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race and posted two straight home wins for the first time in more than four months.
Goran Dragic scored 21 points and Whiteside finished with 18 for the Heat, who got 15 from Luol Deng and won for just the fifth time in 26 games when trailing at halftime.
Ed Davis had 14 points and 12 rebounds, Wayne Ellington scored 14 points and Jordan Hill had a 13-point, 10-rebound night for the Lakers.
CELTICS 85, JAZZ 84
BOSTON – Tyler Zeller banked in a shot from under the basket as time expired to lift Boston past Utah.
After Boston blew an eight-point lead in the final 2 1/2 minutes, Marcus Smart made a long inbounds pass to Zeller under the basket. He banked it off the backboard with 0.1 seconds showing on the clock. It went through the net as the buzzer sounded and was upheld after a review.
Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 21 points, Jae Crowder had 18 and Avery Bradley added 13 points and seven rebounds to help the Celtics rebound from a 31-point loss in Cleveland on Tuesday night.
Gordon Hayward gave Utah the lead with 1.7 seconds left with a fallaway jumper from the right baseline. Derrick Favors and Trey Burke scored 16 points each for Utah.
SPURS 112, KINGS 85
SAN ANTONIO – Kawhi Leonard had 21 points and San Antonio punctuated its return from its nearly monthlong rodeo road trip with its largest home victory of the season.
Tony Parker added 19 points and three assists while guiding the Spurs to 53 per cent shooting.
DeMarcus Cousins had 14 points for the Kings on 5-for-12 shooting.
SUNS 105, MAGIC 100
ORLANDO – Brandon Knight had 28 points and seven assists in his best game for Phoenix, and the Suns overcame a 15-point deficit to beat Orlando.
Markief Morris added 23 points and six rebounds, and P.J. Tucker scored all 19 of his points in the second half to help Phoenix snap a two-game skid and improve to 4-10 in its last 14.
The Suns outscored the Magic 34-17 in the third quarter to take control.
The Magic had the ball and a chance to tie with 5.2 seconds remaining, but Willie Green's inbounds pass was intercepted at close range by Knight and the Phoenix newcomer made two free throws.
Victor Oladipo led the Magic with a career-high 38 points. Nik Vucevic added 18 points.
HORNETS 115, NETS 91
NEW YORK – Al Jefferson and Gerald Henderson each scored 19 points, Marvin Williams had 18 and Charlotte routed Brooklyn in a key matchup in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Mo Williams added 14 points and a season-high 14 assists for the Hornets, who rode a blistering start to their third straight win, breaking a tie with the Nets for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 10 points, his career-best seventh straight game in double figures, and 13 rebounds for Charlotte.
Deron Williams had 12 points for the Nets.
PACERS 105, KNICKS 82
INDIANAPOLIS – George Hill scored a season-high 21 points, and Rodney Stuckey had 17 to help Indiana rout New York.
The Pacers won their third straight, matching their longest winning streak of the season. And with nine wins in 11 games, Indiana also moved a little closer to the final playoff spot in the East.
Andrea Bargnani led New York with 25 points. The Knicks have lost 10 of their last 12.
NUGGETS 100, TIMBERWOLVES 85
MINNEAPOLIS – Kenneth Faried had 18 points and 14 rebounds to help Denver win its second straight since firing coach Brian Shaw.
Will Barton scored 17 points off the bench and the Nuggets outscored Minnesota 52-28 in the paint to make interim coach Melvin Hunt 2-0 since taking over for Shaw. The Nuggets have won back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 14.
Andrew Wiggins scored 20 points for the Timberwolves.