Thunder vs Magic, final score: Westbrook’s big boy triple-double leads OKC to OT win over Magic, 114-106

box score | Orlando Pinstriped Post

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Orlando Magic in overtime, 114-106. The Thunder trailed the Magic in the 3rd quarter by 21. Russell Westbrook recorded his 38th triple-double of the season with 57 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists, and 3 steals (with 7 turnovers).

Those are the facts.

What happened, why it happened, and how it happened are nearly beyond description, much the same way it might feel to go blobbing as a child or get a ‘yes’ the first time you ask someone out on a date. It’s gut wrenching and nerve wracking and stupid and...why am I emotionally investing myself into something that is so self-righteously dumb? And you want to go to bed and forget about that stupid, unnecessary loss to a bad team, sleep it off, and move on to the next normal thing like getting a haircut.

And I guess that’s why we love this stuff.

As the Thunder dumba$$ed their way (is that a verb? it is now) to a halftime deficit to a lottery team just trying to finish out their season, only to come out flat and find themselves improbably trailing by 21 in the 3rd, all sorts of colorful analogies came to mind. None of which I can print here. If someone didn’t know anything about the two teams, they might just think that the lottery team was the one trying to clinch a playoff spot instead of the other way around.

Do you know who the best player was in the 1st half? Backup center Bismack Biyombo, who recorded 12-9 off of 5-5 shooting (every shot right at the rim), with 2 assists(!) and 2 blocks. And I probably could have been content watching OKC flame out with Bismack named as player of the game.

Entering the 4th, the deficit was only 10, a manageable number, but shortly OKC found themselves down 14 to another lottery team, and apparently that’s the magic number. Westbrook then proceeded to score 19 of the Thunder’s next 23 points, including this dumb 30 foot, highly contested 3-pointer, to tie it up at 102.

I mean, really. Why not? Why the $&%#&@ not???

At this point, things have gotten so silly that Magic fans are chanting Westbrook’s name, like this was Rocky IV or something.

Russ’ Thunder, in a season after losing #35, the team left in shambles, have officially made the 2017 NBA playoffs.

Screw it, I’ll let Broom try to explain this one.