Russell Westbrook may not be his triple-double machine, MVP self anymore, but on Saturday night, he turned back the clock.
Westbrook hit a key 3-pointer late in regulation and made the game-saving play with 10 seconds left in overtime when he forced a turnover to give the Denver Nuggets a 112-110 win in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs against his former Los Angeles Clippers.
Westbrook has done just about everything there is to do for a Hall of Fame resume – the 36-year-old is a nine-time All-Star, MVP, two-time scoring champ, three-time assist leader, and averaged a triple-double four times.
Except win a title.
But, his mentality, and self-proclaimed job description, could help him check off that final box.
“My job is to, excuse my language, f–k s–t up,” he said after the contest.
“That’s who he is,” MVP contender Nikola Jokic said after watching Westbrook hit an uncontested corner 3-pointer to give Denver a two-point lead late in regulation and then knocking the inbounds pass away from — and off of — former teammate James Harden with 9.6 seconds left in overtime to help seal Denver’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
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“Russ is Russ,” interim coach David Adelman said after improving to 4-0. “Defensively, he’s absolutely incredible. He was playing free safety out there. I thought a lot of the reasons why the turnovers happened, even if it wasn’t him forcing it, (was) just the way he was roaming around and impacting the game.
“And then offensively … he attacked,” Adelman said. “We maybe could have pulled it out and executed. But that’s what Russ does. I don’t think he’s going to change after 17 years. If he sees somebody in front of him 1-on-1, he’s going to attack. And then he made an enormous 3.”
Jokic scored 29 points and finished one rebound shy of a triple-double. Aaron Gordon added 25 points and Jamal Murray 21 as the Nuggets overcame a 15-point first-half deficit to power past the hottest team entering the playoffs.
The No. 5 seed Clippers’ loss was their first since March 30 at Cleveland. They rolled into the playoffs having won 18 of 21, including their last eight.
Game 2 is Monday night back in Denver, who made the shocking move of firing Michael Malone less than two years after winning a title, and a week before the playoffs began.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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