Russell Westbrook drops 37 in finale, wins NBA scoring title
The final day of the regular season was a perfect storm for Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook: Must-win game, lame-duck opponent secretly hoping to lose, scoring title up for grabs.
Westbrook has had more than his share of jaw-dropping individual performances this season, his freakish stat lines blowing up countless boxscores. This was something different. This was some diabolical brutality.
Westbrook had 23 points in the first quarter, a career-high for a single frame. By halftime, he had 34, on 11-of-15 shooting. His injured teammate, who happened to be the defending scoring champ, was duly impressed.
Sheesh this guy is ridiculous lol.
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) April 16, 2015
That the Thunder would beat the Minnesota Timberwolves was never in doubt. The only question was how many Westbrook would get in the process.
Not too many more, it turns out. He missed all five shots he attempted in the third quarter – scoring just three points – and sat out the fourth, to finish with a still-respectable 37. It was more than enough to propel him to the scoring title, with a final average of 28.1 points per game.
Durant and Westbrook win back-to-back scoring titles
Last time two players from same team won consecutively: 1952-53 pic.twitter.com/On7Oqjtb0e
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 16, 2015
The only guy with a chance to catch him was Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden, who notched a triple-double in his team's finale but scored just 16 points (11 rebounds, 10 assists).
Alas, the win still wasn't enough to get the Thunder to the playoffs. They were eliminated when the New Orleans Pelicans knocked off the San Antonio Spurs.
Here are the final regular season leaders for the rest of the major categories:
Rebounds: DeAndre Jordan: 15.0 RPG
Assists: Chris Paul: 10.2 APG
Blocks: Anthony Davis: 2.9 BPG
Steals: Kawhi Leonard: 2.3 SPG
Field Goal Percentage: DeAndre Jordan: 71.0 percent