When Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder last summer many experts expected the team to fall out of the Western Conference playoff picture the following season because Durant was such a huge part of the team and Oklahoma City would need time to rebuild after his departure. Apparently, they thought Russell Westbrook would just fall off the map and that he wasn’t good enough to lead a team. Westbrook proved his critics wrong during the 2016-17 NBA season by stepping up and leading not only his team but also the NBA in scoring as well as making history with a Triple Double season according to ESPN.

Last year Mark Cuban even went as far to say that Russell Westbrook is not a superstar. Well, with less than a week left in the regular season, the Oklahoma City Thunder are sitting in sixth place in the highly competitive NBA Western Conference with a 45-34 record. Westbrook has put his team on his back on the way to an absolutely historic season, becoming the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1962 to average a triple-double for the season. That’s a pretty spectacular feat for someone who isn’t a superstar.

Russell Westbrook has been in basically a two-man race for NBA MVP with James Harden all season long. There are some other candidates like LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard that may get a few votes but ultimately it comes down to Harden and Westbrook. When Westbrook got his sixth assist last night against the Phoenix Suns to become only the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double, he pretty much sealed the deal and closed the conversation on who should win the MVP this season. Instead of letting his team regress after the Kevin Durant saga, he kept them in contention and are now a playoff-bound organization.

Oklahoma City Thunder fans have reason to celebrate because not only is Russell Westbrook taking the entire league by storm but he also signed a contract extension guaranteeing he will be around to lead this franchise at least for a few more years. What Westbrook is doing as a 6-foot-3-inch point guard is pretty absurd when you step back and take a look at it. Not only is he averaging a triple-double but he is also leading the NBA in scoring. He’s grabbing more rebounds than quite a few starting NBA centers which is an absolutely amazing feat in its own right.

Russell Westbrook is the MVP hands down and it should not even be that close. The record for most triple-doubles in a season is currently 41, which Westbrook has already tied. He has three games left on the NBA schedule to break that record and chances are very high that he does. When asked about the triple-double season and his individual accomplishments Westbrook had this to say:

“I could never say in a million years that I would ever think that was even possible. For me to do it, it’s extremely a blessing. It’s something that I’m honored to be able to do, especially in this game today, at the highest level. It’s a blessing. I’m just very thankful and happy to be able to do it. My main goal since I got here, especially this season, is to win a championship. That’s what my goal is. As a leader of this team, I’ve got to make sure this team is moving in the right direction and I’m playing the way I need to play to make sure we’re playing the best basketball we need to play.”

Russell Westbrook’s historic season has definitely been something to behold and even the casual basketball fan has taken notice. He is already fourth all-time in career triple doubles with 78 tied with the great Wilt Chamberlain and that number is only going to continue to grow. The playoffs should be really entertaining this year with the way Westbrook is playing and he will not stop until the Oklahoma City Thunder are world champions. That moment could come sooner rather than later and there is nothing the NBA can do to stop it.</s>PHOENIX (AP) — Russell Westbrook became the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season, but failed for the second game in a row to break Oscar Robertson’s single-season record for most triple-doubles.

Westbrook fell two assists shy of what would have been his 42nd triple-double in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s one-sided 120-99 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

On a rough night all around, Westbrook had 23 points (on 6-of-25 shooting, 2 of 12 on 3-pointers), 12 rebounds and eight assists, along with eight turnovers before coach Billy Donovan pulled him with 2:34 to play.

Devin Booker scored 21 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter for the Suns, who snapped a 13-game losing streak.

Westbrook did get the six assists he needed to assure that he’d join Robertson as the only players to average a triple-double for a season. Robertson averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists for the Cincinnati Royals in the 1961-62 season.

Enes Kanter added 17 points for the Thunder, who shot just 37 percent. T.J. Warren scored 23 for Phoenix.

Westbrook had probably his worst shooting half of the season and his teammates didn’t show much interest in the contest as the Suns opened a 28-point lead.

He missed his first 11 shots before sinking a 17-footer with 50.4 seconds left in the half. He followed that quickly with a three-point play on an acrobatic drive to the basket.

But his halftime stats were ugly: 2-for-13 shooting, 0 for 4 on 3s, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 6 turnovers.

Phoenix, meanwhile, shot 61 percent in the first half, led by Warren’s 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, to Oklahoma City’s 39 percent and led 71-48 at the half.

Westbrook earned assists on Oklahoma City’s first three baskets in the opening minute of the second half but he got only two more the rest of the night.

Thunder: Oklahoma City is three games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 5 spot in the West. … The season series finished tied 2-2.

Suns: The 13 straight losses had tied a franchise record set last season. … Suns won for the first time since they shut down a healthy Eric Bledsoe for the season. … Phoenix’s 71 points was its highest-scoring first half of the season.

Westbrook has three more chances for that 42nd triple-double, two of them against Denver.

Oklahoma City plays at Denver on Sunday and at Minnesota on Tuesday. The Thunder wrap up their regular season at home against the Nuggets next Wednesday.

He had seven straight triple-doubles before failing to get there the last two times.

Suns: Phoenix is home against Dallas on Sunday.</s>(AP) — Russell Westbrook became the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season, but failed for the second game in a row to break Oscar Robertson’s single-season record for most triple-doubles.

Westbrook fell two assists shy of what would have been his 42nd triple-double in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s one-sided 120-99 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

On a rough night all around, Westbrook had 23 points (on 6-of-25 shooting, 2 of 12 on 3-pointers), 12 rebounds and eight assists, along with eight turnovers before coach Billy Donovan pulled him with 2:34 to play.

Devin Booker scored 21 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter for the Suns, who snapped a 13-game losing streak.

Westbrook did get the six assists he needed to assure that he’d join Robertson as the only players to average a triple-double for a season. Robertson averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists for the Cincinnati Royals in the 1961-62 season.

Enes Kanter added 17 points for the Thunder, who shot just 37 percent. T.J. Warren scored 23 for Phoenix.

Westbrook had probably his worst shooting half of the season and his teammates didn’t show much interest in the contest as the Suns opened a 28-point lead.

He missed his first 11 shots before sinking a 17-footer with 50.4 seconds left in the half. He followed that quickly with a three-point play on an acrobatic drive to the basket.

But his halftime stats were ugly: 2-for-13 shooting, 0 for 4 on 3s, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 6 turnovers.

Phoenix, meanwhile, shot 61 percent in the first half, led by Warren’s 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, to Oklahoma City’s 39 percent and led 71-48 at the half.

Westbrook earned assists on Oklahoma City’s first three baskets in the opening minute of the second half but he got only two more the rest of the night.

Thunder: Oklahoma City is three games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 5 spot in the West. … The season series finished tied 2-2.

Suns: The 13 straight losses had tied a franchise record set last season. … Suns won for the first time since they shut down a healthy Eric Bledsoe for the season. … Phoenix’s 71 points was its highest-scoring first half of the season.

Westbrook has three more chances for that 42nd triple-double, two of them against Denver.

Oklahoma City plays at Denver on Sunday and at Minnesota on Tuesday. The Thunder wrap up their regular season at home against the Nuggets next Wednesday.

He had seven straight triple-doubles before failing to get there the last two times.

Suns: Phoenix is home against Dallas on Sunday.</s>Too bad the MVP votes already will be cast when Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder face James Harden and the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs.

The Thunder secured the sixth seed in the West with the Clippers’ win over the Spurs on Saturday night. Second-seeded San Antonio will face seventh-seeded Memphis in the first round; the rest of the matchups are yet to be set.

But Thunder-Rockets will be the best first-round series thanks to the teams’ MVP candidates: Westbrook will finish this season averaging a triple-double while Harden is having the most prolific offensive season in NBA history. What are the chances that they both average a triple for the series?

Westbrook will have his work cut out for him, as the third-seeded Rockets won three of four from the Thunder this season. But Westbrook has faced an uphill battle since Kevin Durant left, so what else is new?</s>When Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder last summer many experts expected the team to fall out of the Western Conference playoff picture the following season because Durant was such a huge part of the team and Oklahoma City would need time to rebuild after his departure. Apparently, they thought Russell Westbrook would just fall off the map and that he wasn’t good enough to lead a team. Westbrook proved his critics wrong during the 2016-17 NBA season by stepping up and leading not only his team but also the NBA in scoring as well as making history with a Triple Double season according to ESPN. Last year Mark Cuban even went as far to say that Russell Westbrook is not a superstar. Well, with less than a week left in the regular season, the Oklahoma City Thunder are sitting in sixth place in the highly competitive NBA Western Conference with a 45-34 record. Westbrook has put his team on his back on the way to an absolutely historic season, becoming the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1962 to average a triple-double for the season. That’s a pretty spectacular feat for someone who isn’t a superstar. [Image by Christian Petersen/Getty Images] Russell Westbrook has been in basically a two-man race for NBA MVP with James Harden all season long. There are some other candidates like LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard that may get a few votes but ultimately it comes down to Harden and Westbrook. When Westbrook got his sixth assist last night against the Phoenix Suns to become only the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double, he pretty much sealed the deal and closed the conversation on who should win the MVP this season. Instead of letting his team regress after the Kevin Durant saga, he kept them in contention and are now a playoff-bound organization. Oklahoma City Thunder fans have reason to celebrate because not only is Russell Westbrook taking the entire league by storm but he also signed a contract extension guaranteeing he will be around to lead this franchise at least for a few more years. What Westbrook is doing as a 6-foot-3-inch point guard is pretty absurd when you step back and take a look at it. Not only is he averaging a triple-double but he is also leading the NBA in scoring. He’s grabbing more rebounds than quite a few starting NBA centers which is an absolutely amazing feat in its own right. [Image by Christian Petersen/Getty Images] Russell Westbrook is the MVP hands down and it should not even be that close. The record for most triple-doubles in a season is currently 41, which Westbrook has already tied. He has three games left on the NBA schedule to break that record and chances are very high that he does. When asked about the triple-double season and his individual accomplishments Westbrook had this to say: “I could never say in a million years that I would ever think that was even possible. For me to do it, it’s extremely a blessing. It’s something that I’m honored to be able to do, especially in this game today, at the highest level. It’s a blessing. I’m just very thankful and happy to be able to do it. My main goal since I got here, especially this season, is to win a championship. That’s what my goal is. As a leader of this team, I’ve got to make sure this team is moving in the right direction and I’m playing the way I need to play to make sure we’re playing the best basketball we need to play.” Russell Westbrook’s historic season has definitely been something to behold and even the casual basketball fan has taken notice. He is already fourth all-time in career triple doubles with 78 tied with the great Wilt Chamberlain and that number is only going to continue to grow. The playoffs should be really entertaining this year with the way Westbrook is playing and he will not stop until the Oklahoma City Thunder are world champions. That moment could come sooner rather than later and there is nothing the NBA can do to stop it. [Featured Image by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]</s>The Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook fell short of setting an NBA record for triple-doubles in a season for the second straight game in Friday's 120-99 loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Westbrook missed his first 12 shots from the field and finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. He remains tied with Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson with 41 triple-doubles. Robertson accomplished the feat for the Cincinnati Royals during the 1961-62 season.

Westbrook assured himself of becoming only the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season, joining Robertson, with his sixth assist when he fed Victor Oladipo for a layup with 10:36 left in the third period.

Atlanta didn't play any of its usual starters against LeBron James and Cleveland, but still managed a win.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 22 points and Mike Dunleavy added 20 off the bench for the Hawks, who with the win moved to 1.0 games ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks for fifth in the East.

James scored 27 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists for the Cavs, whose lead over the Boston Celtics for first in the Eastern Conference is 1.0 games with three to play.

DeMar DeRozan scored 38 points and Toronto held off Miami after erasing a double-digit deficit to tie the game late.

Kyle Lowry had 12 points and Serge Ibaka added 11 points and nine rebounds before fouling out late in the game for the Raptors.

The Heat, who are out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, dropped one game behind both the Chicago Bulls and the Indiana Pacers, who occupy the final two playoff berths.

Mike Conley scored 31 points and with the win over New York, Memphis secured the seventh seed in the Western Conference.

The Grizzlies, who will play San Antonio in the first round, also got 16 points and 10 rebounds from Marc Gasol. Courtney Lee scored 16 to lead the Knicks and Maurice Ndour, one of three rookies in the starting lineup, finished with a career-high 15.

Little-used rookie Bryn Forbes scored 27 points off the bench as the stripped-down version of San Antonio rallied past Dallas.

Coach Gregg Popovich elected to leave most of his big guns home as Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol were given the night off. Manu Ginobili and Danny Green were officially nursing injuries and Tony Parker dressed but didn't set foot on the floor.

Stanley Johnson drilled a 3-pointer with 32.4 seconds remaining and Detroit erased a 12-point, second-half deficit to top Houston.

The Pistons mostly played reserves down the stretch yet maintained their slim playoffs hopes with their comeback. Johnson finished with 13 points off the bench, one of three Detroit reserves to score in double figures.

Gordon Hayward scored a career-high 39 points on 14 of 22 shooting from the field and Joe Johnson added 22 points off the bench to lead Utah over Minnesota.

Rudy Gobert added 16 points and Derrick Favors chipped in 13 points for the Jazz. Utah won its eighth straight home game and moved a full game ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference standings.

Jamal Murray scored 22 of his career-high 30 points in the second half, Nikola Jokic had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Denver kept its playoff hopes alive by beating New Orleans.

Anthony Davis had 25 points and Jordan Crawford 20 for the Pelicans, who played without DeMarcus Cousins.

Gary Harris had 20 points and a career-high nine assists for the Nuggets, who moved within one game of Portland for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.

D'Angelo Russell scored the decisive basket with 41 seconds remaining as Los Angeles beat Sacramento to win its third straight game.

Julius Randle scored 25 points and Brandon Ingram added 11 points as the Lakers shot 44.2 from the field (38-for-86).

The Kings had a two-game winning streak snapped, shooting from the field 50.7 percent from the field (38-for-75). Skal Labissiere led the Kings with 19 points and Buddy Hield added 17 points.</s>If there’s one person who knows what it feels like to be accused of chasing stats, it’s Kobe Bryant.

The recently retired Lakers legend rode the “ballhog” stigma across his entire career, and had to deal with the criticism even after his most incredible feats, like scoring 81 points in a game, scoring 50 points in four straight or dropping 60 in his final NBA game.

So it’s no surprise to see Bryant come to Russell Westbrook’s defense. Westbrook had 23 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in Friday’s loss to the Suns, which clinched a triple-double average for him on the season. Westbrook is just the second player ever (along with Oscar Robertson) to accomplish the feat.

Westbrook fell two assists shy of breaking Robertson’s single-season NBA record of 41 triple-doubles, however, and appeared to be passing up open shots late in the game, possibly in an effort to get two more assists and set the record. The media asked Westbrook after the game whether he was actively trying to get assists, and Bryant did not appreciate the line of questioning.

“He averages a trip dub for the season @ramonashelburne and this is the kind of question he gets #silly,” Bryant wrote on Twitter.

Clearly, Kobe was not happy about the reporters questioning Westbrook’s motives, but that’s exactly what you would expect from Bryant, or any other player really -- they generally come to each other’s defense when there’s any sort of “us vs. the media” situation.

If you watch the full video of Westbrook’s postgame comments, you can see that he was asked about clinching the triple-double record (1:42) well before being asked about chasing assists (4:00), which hurts Bryant’s case a bit.

Perhaps in Bryant’s mind the questions should have been centered more around Westbrook’s accomplishment, but it really did look like he was intentionally passing up shots to look for assists toward the end of the game, so it was the media’s responsibility to at least ask the question.

Surely on some level Bryant understands this, but he just wanted to take the opportunity to stick up for the only NBA player who’s come close to displaying the passion and intensity that Kobe did when he played.</s>PHOENIX, AZ – APRIL 7: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder is seen during the game against the Phoenix Suns on April 7, 2017 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.

A frustrated Russell Westbrook had been working out in the Phoenix Suns’ practice gym for about 30 minutes following the final buzzer when Oklahoma City Thunder coach Billy Donovan began heading out to the team bus.

Westbrook had already given notice that he was finding his own way back to the Thunder’s hotel in Phoenix on Friday night. And as Donovan stood outside the practice gym doors where the NBA MVP candidate was breaking more of a sweat after a bad night when history was and wasn’t made, the coach smiled widely in appreciation of his uber-competitive star.

“That’s what makes him great,” Donovan told The Undefeated. “My wife was back in Florida for spring break. So what am I going to do? Go home? I can’t cook. So what do I do? I stay in the office. Nine o’clock [at night], 9:30, here he comes rolling in on the shooting gun. We had an off day and I told the guys to get away after a long stretch we had, no practice, no nothing. 5:30 at night, here he comes into the weight room lifting by himself.

“He’s really, really, really just committed. He didn’t shoot the ball well. He probably felt those were shots he should have made. He’s going to go in there and feel better about walking out of this building tonight.”

Westbrook missed 19 of 25 field goal attempts, including his first 11, and 10 of 12 3-point attempts to finish with 23 points in a 120-99 loss to the struggling yet prideful Suns. The six-time NBA All-Star had 12 rebounds and eight assists, which left him two assists shy of an NBA season-record 42nd triple-double.

Westbrook’s eight assists guaranteed he would be the first player to average a triple-double for a season since Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists in 1961-62.

His Thunder teammates didn’t help his cause as Westbrook mustered only two of the needed four assists in eight minutes in the fourth quarter. With three regular-season games remaining, Westbrook is tied with Robertson for the most triple-doubles in a season with 41.

Westbrook says he “don’t play for the records” and he puts a lot of pressure on himself daily to “compete at a high level.” With his father’s old family remedy in mind, Westbrook headed to the Suns’ practice gym shortly after the game to regroup mentally while his teammates headed to the showers in their locker room next door.

“That’s just something me and my dad [used to do],” the 6-foot-4 point guard said. “My dad always told me to get my mind right. That’s just something I always used to do. I always remember that. It can be therapeutic, whatever you want to call it. For me it’s just overall getting my s— together …

“You understand how important the game is. I want to make sure I’m playing the best I can for my teammates and I feel like tonight I let them down in that aspect.”

Thunder assistant coach and former NBA point guard Maurice “Mo” Cheeks eventually made his way into the practice gym to check on Westbrook after walking past security at the two entrances. Cheeks, however, didn’t go on the hardwood floor to help. Why? Westbrook didn’t want anyone passing him the ball on the full court.

“He said he didn’t deserve for anyone to pass him the ball. He chased everyone away. He told them to leave,” a source said.

Said Donovan: “He’s an old-school guy. A man’s man. I love dealing with him. He’s very direct.”

Cheeks sat quietly in a row of seats above the court watching Westbrook work out. Meanwhile, Thunder players and other team personnel minded their own business as they got gourmet plates of food to-go from a buffet line in that same practice gym. Cheeks recalled how he and his longtime pupil had conversations years ago about what the latter needed to do to be a superstar one day. Cheeks believed that Westbrook would be pretty good at the time, but never envisioned this Robertson-like greatness.

“When I first got here, he was in his second year,” Cheeks told The Undefeated. “He and I had conversations about All-Star and just being one of the best players in the league. And he wasn’t at that time. To see where he was to where he is now, is an amazing thing.

“I saw the competitiveness. I can’t say I saw the greatness like that. But I saw the level he worked, the level he practiced. If he didn’t do something that night, he tried to do better the next night. I saw that.”

Cheeks has played with Hall of Famers Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and Dominique Wilkins. The 1983 NBA champion has also coached Hall of Famer Allen Iverson and 2014 NBA MVP Kevin Durant. But when it comes to competitive level, Cheeks ranks Westbrook with “The Answer.”

“He and Iverson rank right up there,” Cheeks said. “They never give in. They always think they are the best player on the floor. They’re just nonstop all the time.”

Before the game, Suns coach Earl Watson said Westbrook should win the 2017 NBA MVP award. Watson played for the Thunder and was previously a teammate of Westbrook’s and his biggest MVP competition, Houston Rockets guard James Harden.

Watson’s young Suns did everything in their power in the fourth quarter to keep Westbrook from getting the assists to set the triple-double record. The Suns defended hard, ran down the shot clock and even fouled Westbrook’s teammates over letting them make a shot for an assist.

The next of three remaining stops in Westbrook’s quest toward the triple-double record is the Rocky Mountains on Sunday against the Denver Nuggets.

Before an always introspective Watson departed victorious from Talking Stick Resort Arena, he went into the Suns’ practice gym to check on his “little brother” in Westbrook.

“He is so emotional that there is never enough time for him to calm down after a game,” Watson said of his fellow former UCLA star. “He puts so much into it physically. He goes to a place mentally where a lot of players cannot understand. He has to be, to be as impactful as he is and to do what he does.

“He doesn’t get enough time to calm down and have a conversation with him. He is really special and he will be with the biggest smile that ever exists. But unfortunately, the clips that are played and the interviews are not that Russ. I just think he is the MVP.”

About 45 minutes into Westbrook’s workout, most of the Thunder players had departed into a night of possible fun in Phoenix. Around that time, a stoic Thunder general manager Sam Presti entered the Suns’ practice gym to be the next person to check on his superstar.

Presti and the Thunder selected Westbrook with the fourth overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Presti credited Thunder assistant general manager Troy Weaver for having foresight that Westbrook had star potential after two seasons at UCLA. Even with Weaver’s prediction, no one in the Thunder organization expected this explosion.

Westbrook is averaging an NBA-best 31.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game.

“Nobody can say that they knew that Russell Westbrook would turn out to be a player like this, let’s not get it twisted,” Presti told The Undefeated. “I would say we made a big bet on his heart and felt that whatever potential he had in him, he was going to reach based on who he was as a human being. I feel equally as confident that Russell Westbrook, after he is finished playing basketball, that he will be a successful person. He has the qualities of a high-achieving individual and an intrinsic motivation that runs through his veins that is truly special.”

Westbrook eventually stopped bouncing the ball in the Suns’ practice gym, but remained there a little longer. He departed sans jersey and his Jordans while still donning his Thunder game shorts after being there for about an hour. Two of his very patient buddies greeted him once he finally left the practice and exchanged complicated handshakes before he told them he would be out shortly after getting showered and changed.

The renowned fashionista Westbrook eventually talked to the media wearing an “R.W.” hat and a fancy white T-shirt that read: “UNDER COVER MANIAC.” He used profanity to express his strong disdain for a question about whether he was fishing for assists as the Suns players suggested. He never blamed his teammates for not producing the needed assists in crunch time. For anyone listening, Westbrook believes the Thunder has the talent to win its first NBA title this season despite not being a top Western Conference seed. He said he wasn’t consumed with setting the NBA record for triple-doubles, but he does respect the history and accomplishment.

“You could never say in a million years that I would ever think that was even possible. For me to do it, it’s a blessing that I’m honored to be able to do in this game today at the highest level. It’s a true blessing. I’m just very thankful to be able to do it,” Westbrook said.

With media votes due Friday, there is a lot of MVP buzz about Westbrook as he has led the Thunder to a surprising 45 wins despite the departures of Durant and Serge Ibaka. Another notable Thunder topic is a possible first-round playoff matchup against MVP challenger Harden and the Rockets. But until the regular season ends, the focus is on Westbrook passing “The Big O.”

Even if Westbrook is shy of the NBA triple-double record entering Wednesday’s regular-season finale against the Nuggets, sources say Robertson will be there to celebrate however it all settles. There are also rumors that NBA commissioner Adam Silver may be at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City as well during the regular-season finale.

“If history is taking place, there is a plan as to how we try to recognize that. But only at the end point,” said Presti, without revealing any details. “Russell has led the charge in not taking the focus off the team and the winning. But there is also a time and place to recognize history, and we will do that.”</s>PHOENIX (AP) — Russell Westbrook became the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season, but failed for the second game in a row to break Oscar Robertson’s single-season record for most triple-doubles.

Westbrook fell two assists shy of what would have been his 42nd triple-double in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s one-sided 120-99 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

On a rough night all around, Westbrook had 23 points (on 6-of-25 shooting, 2 of 12 on 3-pointers), 12 rebounds and eight assists, along with eight turnovers before coach Billy Donovan pulled him with 2:34 to play.

Devin Booker scored 21 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter for the Suns, who snapped a 13-game losing streak.

Westbrook did get the six assists he needed to assure that he’d join Robertson as the only players to average a triple-double for a season. Robertson averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists for the Cincinnati Royals in the 1961-62 season.

Enes Kanter added 17 points for the Thunder, who shot just 37 percent. T.J. Warren scored 23 for Phoenix.

Westbrook had probably his worst shooting half of the season and his teammates didn’t show much interest in the contest as the Suns opened a 28-point lead.

He missed his first 11 shots before sinking a 17-footer with 50.4 seconds left in the half. He followed that quickly with a three-point play on an acrobatic drive to the basket.

But his halftime stats were ugly: 2-for-13 shooting, 0 for 4 on 3s, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 6 turnovers.

Phoenix, meanwhile, shot 61 percent in the first half, led by Warren’s 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, to Oklahoma City’s 39 percent and led 71-48 at the half.

Westbrook earned assists on Oklahoma City’s first three baskets in the opening minute of the second half but he got only two more the rest of the night.

Thunder: Oklahoma City is three games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 5 spot in the West. … The season series finished tied 2-2.

Suns: The 13 straight losses had tied a franchise record set last season. … Suns won for the first time since they shut down a healthy Eric Bledsoe for the season. … Phoenix’s 71 points was its highest-scoring first half of the season.

Westbrook has three more chances for that 42nd triple-double, two of them against Denver.

Oklahoma City plays at Denver on Sunday and at Minnesota on Tuesday. The Thunder wrap up their regular season at home against the Nuggets next Wednesday.

He had seven straight triple-doubles before failing to get there the last two times.

Suns: Phoenix is home against Dallas on Sunday.</s>Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook became the second player in the NBA, and the first in 55 years, to average a triple-double over an entire season on Friday.

Westbrook joined Hall of Famer Oscar ‘The Big O’ Robertson, an extraordinary guard in the days of dominant centres Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, who averaged a triple-double in 1961-62.

Westbrook was averaging 31.8 points (first in the NBA), 10.7 rebounds (10th) and 10.4 assists (third) entering Friday’s game against the Phoenix Suns, leaving him six assists shy with four games left to secure the feat. He had collected them by the early part of the third quarter.

Robertson averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists in 1961-62, and was seven rebounds short of doing it again two seasons later.

After high-scoring team-mate Kevin Durant left to join Golden State during the off-season, Westbrook was determined to pick up the slack, and the lightning quick, high-leaping guard has done just that in leading the Thunder to 45 wins.

Westbrook, the fourth overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft out of UCLA, is poised to eclipse Robertson’s single-season record of 41 triple-doubles after matching the mark on April 4. He has three games left in the regular season.

Westbrook finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in the Thunder’s 120-99 loss to the Suns on Friday.
In basketball, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder ensures that he will average a triple-double for the 2016–17 NBA season in the Thunder's game against the Phoenix Suns. He becomes only the second NBA player to average a triple-double over a season, after Oscar Robertson with the Cincinnati Royals (now known as the Sacramento Kings) in 1961–62.