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Atlanta Hawks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder - Recap - March 20, 2015 - ESPN
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Thunder keep losing players and finding ways to win.
Hours after Oklahoma City learned it might be without reigning MVP Kevin Durant for the rest of the season, Russell Westbrook had yet another triple-double and scored 17 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter to help the Thunder defeat the Atlanta Hawks 123-115 on Friday night.
"One thing I do know -- our guys are going to continue to fight and rally, and our crowd is going to continue to support our guys because they give effort," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "We've never, ever given up and felt sorry for ourselves."
The update on Durant's right foot came during the same week the Thunder found out forward Serge Ibaka might also be out for the season with a knee injury. Big man Enes Kanter also missed Friday's game with a sprained left ankle. And forward Nick Collison was in a boot and on crutches following Friday's game after sustaining a high ankle sprain on his left foot.
In the midst of it all, the Thunder became just the fourth team in NBA history to go from nine games under .500 to nine games over .500 in the same season.
"It's not healthy for the head coach to go through all these injuries," Brooks said. "But our team's going to continue to rally around each other and help each other fight through it."
Westbrook's 10 rebounds and 14 assists gave him his seventh triple-double since the All-Star break, his ninth of the season and the 17th of his career.
He also made all 17 of his free throws, the most without a miss by any player in the league this season. He has made 36 free throws the past two games. According to STATS, that's the most by any player in back-to-back games since Durant made 41 combined on Jan. 18 and Jan. 20, 2013.
Hours after Oklahoma City learned it might be without reigning MVP Kevin Durant for the rest of the season, Russell Westbrook had yet another triple-double and scored 17 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter to help the Thunder defeat the Atlanta Hawks 123-115 on Friday night.
"One thing I do know -- our guys are going to continue to fight and rally, and our crowd is going to continue to support our guys because they give effort," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "We've never, ever given up and felt sorry for ourselves."
The update on Durant's right foot came during the same week the Thunder found out forward Serge Ibaka might also be out for the season with a knee injury. Big man Enes Kanter also missed Friday's game with a sprained left ankle. And forward Nick Collison was in a boot and on crutches following Friday's game after sustaining a high ankle sprain on his left foot.
In the midst of it all, the Thunder became just the fourth team in NBA history to go from nine games under .500 to nine games over .500 in the same season.
"It's not healthy for the head coach to go through all these injuries," Brooks said. "But our team's going to continue to rally around each other and help each other fight through it."
Westbrook's 10 rebounds and 14 assists gave him his seventh triple-double since the All-Star break, his ninth of the season and the 17th of his career.
He also made all 17 of his free throws, the most without a miss by any player in the league this season. He has made 36 free throws the past two games. According to STATS, that's the most by any player in back-to-back games since Durant made 41 combined on Jan. 18 and Jan. 20, 2013.