Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook remains one triple-double away from surpassing Oscar Robertson and breaking the single-season record, but he’s being met with some stiff resistance.
Several Phoenix Suns players spoke of their desire to stop Westbrook from breaking the record against them after they denied him Friday night, holding him to 8 assists in a Suns victory.
“Fourth quarter, we had such a big lead and the only thing he needed was assists, so the whole game plan changed,” Suns forward Jared Dudley told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “He was still in the game down 20, 25, and you could see he was being real passive, so we just stayed home; and if he was going to do a drop-off, we were going to foul and make them earn it. If he was going to earn it, it was going to be somewhere else.
“I hope he gets it, just not here, not versus us. We’ve dealt with enough problems this year, so to have another history against us and have to watch it 20 years from now, I’m glad it’s not us.”
Suns guard Devin Booker dropped 37 and admitted that he was extra fired up, particularly by hearing MVP chants directed at Westbrook in his own building.
“I’m a competitor, and I’m at my home arena, and you’re hearing chants to another guy,” Booker said. “Which I totally respect Russell. He brings it each and every night, and you can’t discredit what he’s been doing. I’m sure he’s going to pass Oscar for the most triple-doubles. I just didn’t want it to be here. I took that personal. Like I said, I’m a competitor. I’m sure if someone was chasing a record at home in OKC, he’d feel the same way.”
The Suns are playing for nothing but pride at this point, and opponents keeping Westbrook from breaking that record is becoming something of a theme, albeit not always as seriously as the Suns took it.
