SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA—(I’ve been on medical furlough after my confinement at the Mercy General Hospital here. While I mend, I will write sporadically from the university town of Davis 30 minutes west of this capital city.)
Gone fishing.
That’s the sign likely hanging on the Oklahoma Thunder’s locker room door after a cursed playoff series Tuesday night.
Triple double champion Russell Westbrook heated up with 47 points but his teammates sucked as usual as OKC absorbed a 105-99 beating from MVP plum rival James Harden and the Houston Rockets.
With a 4-1 record in the first round, the Rockets advanced to the next level, and are standing by for the winner of the San Antonio-Memphis series for the semifinals of the Western Conference championship.
The Spurs, spearheaded by Kawhi Leonard’s 28 points, rained down treys on the Grizzlies 116-103 and hope to close out gritty Marc Gasol and blue-collar Memphis in Game 6 Friday, Manila time, on a 4-2 record.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors, rested and confident after sweeping the Portland Trailblazers 4-0, await the winner of the Jazz-Clippers match-up for the other Western conference semis.
Utah, now 3-2, outlasted Los Angeles, 96-92, at Staples Center Tuesday night. Both teams now head to Salt Lake City for Game 6 Saturday PH time.
If history is the basis, the Game 5 winner of a deadlocked series wins that series 82 percent of the time. Plus, there’s no Blake Griffin for LA. He will miss the rest of the playoffs with a toe injury.
Going back to the Thunder tragedy, Westbrook scored almost half of his entire team’s output vs. the Rockets, but fired the most number of shots for OKC as expected.
Offensive help was lacking again from the supporting cast of Taj Gibson, Andre Robertson, Steven Adams and Victor Oladipo.
The only constant burst of fire came from Westbrook whose efforts were complemented late by Spanish rookie Alex Abrines and his 11 points.
Westbrook came prepared with his trademark fusillade—drawing a pointed comment from Rockets guard Patrick Beverley.
Late in the fourth quarter, Westbrook was charged with a hard foul on Beverley, sparking an exchange of words between the two.
Beverley later told sportswriters that Westbrook, with his usual swagger, told him “no one can guard me, I got 40 points.”
“I’m like that’s nice,” Beverly recalled telling Westbrook. “You took 34 shots to get it.”
Elsewhere in the playoffs, the Eastern Conference remains tight.
Only defending world champion Cleveland Cavaliers, who outclassed the Indiana Pacers in four games, are cooling their heals.