OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — For more than 47 minutes, Russell Westbrook could barely hit a shot.
For the next 5-plus minutes, he rarely missed.
Oklahoma City’s fearless star was 7 for 28 from the field before he drained a 3-pointer late in regulation that forced overtime. He followed that by scoring 14 of his 35 points in the extra period to help the Thunder defeat the Washington Wizards 126-115 on Wednesday night.
“Never stop believing in yourself and your capabilities of doing what you’re able to do on the basketball floor,” Westbrook said.
Bradley Beal, who led the Wizards with 31 points, couldn’t believe Westbrook hit the shot with 8.5 seconds remaining. It was the only 3-pointer he made in six tries.
“I felt like I did a great job of cutting him off to the basket,” Beal said. “He wasn’t making any jumpers all game. The only 3 he makes is the one to go into overtime.”
Westbrook was 4 of 6 from the field and 6 for 6 on free throws in the extra period. He finished with 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his fourth straight triple-double, his ninth this season and the 46th of his career. The Thunder have won all four games during his triple-double streak, and he heads into December averaging a triple-double through 20 games this season.
John Wall had 15 points and 15 assists and Marcin Gortat added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Wizards, who had won three of four.
The Thunder led by 16 early in the second quarter and were up 60-53 at halftime. A block by Domantas Sabonis led to a fast-break dunk by Steven Adams that put the Thunder up 74-62 in the third quarter and prompted Brooks to call a timeout. The Wizards closed the quarter strong and tied the score at 84 heading into the fourth.
The Wizards took control before the Thunder rallied. A 3-pointer and a dunk by Victor Oladipo cut Washington’s lead to one, and the assist on the dunk gave Westbrook his triple-double.
Washington’s Otto Porter missed a short fadeaway at the end of regulation that would have won the game, and then Westbrook took over.
“I thought we did a good job until overtime on Westbrook,” Brooks said. “He’s hard to stop. He’s a terrific basketball player playing at a high level — another triple-double — but I thought we did a pretty good job of containing him most of the night.”
The Thunder are 7-2 this season when Westbrook gets a triple-double. They have won 25 of their last 27 games over the past two seasons when he accomplishes the feat.
