Russell Westbrook had 37 points (17 in the fourth quarter), 13 rebounds and 14 assists, his 23rd triple-double of the season, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Toronto Raptors 132-125 for their sixth straight win.
Westbrook’s driving layup put the Thunder ahead for good with 39 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Westbrook’s 16-foot pull-up jumper with 12.3 seconds left made it 129-125, and Paul George’s free throw with 11.7 seconds left put it away at 130-125.
During clutch time, the Thunder outscored the Raptors 15-8. Westbrook (No. 2 in clutch points, 2017-18) scored 11 of the Thunder’s 15 on 5 for 8 shooting and 1 for 2 at the line. In the fourth quarter, Kyle Lowry had 4 of his 10 assists, 4 of them on baskets by Delon Wright, Pascal Siakam and CJ Miles that put the Raptors ahead. With 1:13 left, Corey Brewer stole the ball from DeMar DeRozan, and George’s free throws off it put the Thunder ahead 124-123.
Steven Adams had 25 points (20 in the paint) and 8 rebounds on 10 for 13 shooting, and George added 22 points and 3 steals. Westbrook scored 17 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter. The Thunder had 3 20-point scorers. Westbrook assisted on 8 of Adams’ 10 baskets.
For the Raptors, DeRozan scored 24 points, and Lowry added 22 points and 10 assists on 7 for 10 shooting. Wright had 15 points and a career-high 8 assists on 6 for 8 shooting off the bench.
The Thunder grabbed 14 offensive rebounds to the Raptors’ 8. The Raptors turned it over 19 times, about 6 more than usual for this many possessions. They outscored the Thunder 57-23 off the bench. The Thunder’s starters outscored the Raptors 76-57 in 25 minutes together. Lowry fouled out.