DENVER – This is how Russell Westbrook was meant to make history and break the Big O’s record.
Nitpick some of the rebounds if you want to be a nerd and a party-pooper, but Westbrook making triple-doubles routine this season has not been about stat chasing. It has been about necessity, a remarkable display of a superstar relentlessly doing what his team needed of him to win.
His performance Sunday prompted a pair of standing ovations from the Pepsi Center crowd and epitomized what Westbrook’s season has been about. It was a classic display of all-around dominance -- 50 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, capped by a 36-foot game-winner at the buzzer -- combined with a refusal to let the Oklahoma City Thunder lose.