OAKLAND, Calif. – Russell Westbrook stood at the end of the bench rocking side-to-side from leg-to-leg in a dark blazer, gray pants with dark piping and eyeglasses – certainly no attire for a Thunder-Warriors clash.
That was the nervous time – the Thunder hemorrhaging points in the paint, trailing by as many as 14 points in the first half. Then, the third quarter happened.
Suddenly, in the Thunder's eventual 108-100 loss, Westbrook was up off the bench clapping. Paul George had awoken, stroking a high arching jump shot over the outstretched arm of Kevin Durant which left George beating his chest.