Russel Westbrook showed a remarkable play by scoring the highest point in the NBA history in more than 40 years. But there is a story behind his amazing play which includes his drive to win and his feeling toward Kevin Durant.
Westbrook made a historic triple double on the Oct. 28 regular season game winning against Phoenix Suns. He scored 51 points, along with 10 assists and 13 rebounds as the Thunder defeated the Jazz 113-110 in an overtime, as reported by FOX Sports. He made a clear statement with his action.
When Durant left Oklahoma to join Curry and the Warriors, Westbrook has been barraged with so many questions about Durant’s departure. The 27-year-old point guard mostly refused to answer such questions as reported by Bleacher Report. But on Friday night at the Thunder homecourt Chesapeake Energy Arena, in front of the 18,000 fans he answered all questions clearly.
Westbrook revealed his drive to win is the key factor for his top performance. He said that his focus to win the game made him forget about everything else.
"Very simple. When you want to win, you don't think about being tired,” he told reporters after the game. ”To me, being tired is a mind thing. It's in your mind. You've got to go out there and compete at a high level and leave it on the floor."
Wetbrook’s 51-point triple double is recorded as one of the highest triple double in the history of the NBA after 40 years. Two Los Angeles Lakers players, Elgin Baylor in 1962 and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 were the last to score triple double with more than 50 points.
In the modern NBA history, Westbrook put himself at the elite level with two highest scorers. Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Jordan scored 69 points in March 1990 against Cleveland Cavaliers. While Kobe made 81 points on Jan. 22, 2006 against Toronto Raptors.
Watch Westbrook’s dominant play against the Phoenix Suns to score triple double from NBA channel below: