The Thunder have four more games remaining on their regular season schedule. They play the Suns on Friday, the Nuggets on Sunday, the Timberwolves next Tuesday, and the Nuggets again next Wednesday. So Russell Westbrookshould be able to break Oscar Robertson’s single-season triple-double record after moving into a tie with him during a game against the Bucks on Tuesday night. He has averaged a triple-double for most of the season, so recording one more to give him 42 for the year shouldn’t be a problem.
Westbrook came so close to doing it against the Grizzlies on Wednesday night, though, so if by some chance he doesn’t end up breaking the record, the game against Memphis is probably going to haunt him to some degree. Westbrook scored 45 points, dished out 10 assists, and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Thunder to a 103-100 win, and he had an opportunity to grab his tenth rebound on the final play of the game but ultimately missed out on recording it.
But Westbrook wasn’t too upset following the game. He was asked by reporters if he knew he was just one rebound away from getting his record-breaking triple-double, and he said yes, since everyone in the crowd was counting his stats for him:
But Westbrook, who has smiled a lot more this season than he has during seasons in the past, didn’t spend too much time dwelling on the missed opportunity. He laughed when he talked about people being "disappointed" about him missing out on his 42nd triple-double and said he was just glad to get a win:
Even though he wasn’t able to break Robertson’s long-standing triple-double record, Westbrook did move to within just six assists of averaging a triple-double for the season. But it’s clear people are going to be clamoring for him to break the record during his final four games. And at this point, we can’t imagine him failing to find a way to do it. It’s just been that kind of season for the Thunder star.
