Rockets overcome Westbrook’s 51, take 2-0 lead over Thunder

Houston visits Oklahoma City for Game 3 at Chesapeake Energy Arena at 8:30 p.m.

Will Lob City travel to Utah or will Jazz step up?

OKC Thunder guard Victor Oladipo (5) dribbles the ball against the Houston Rockets in game one of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center.

“He’s good, no doubt about it”, Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said of Westbrook after witnessing the highest scoring triple-double in National Basketball Association history.

The Rockets officially took a 2-0 lead in the series after beating the Thunder 115-111.

Westbrook, who finished the game with an National Basketball Association playoff record 51-point, 13-assist, 10-rebound triple-double, was visibly upset after the loss, especially when asked about his stat line in the postgame press conference.

He scored 22 in the series opener on Sunday night when the Rockets rolled to a 118-87 win.

Westbrook finished with 51 points, 13 assists, and 10 boards.

“I don’t give a [expletive] about the line”, Westbrook responded.

Then, in the fourth, we saw the “worst” of Russ, as he relentlessly launched jump shots while his teammates could only watch from afar. That’s what we tried to do.

The Thunder’s next leading scorer, Andre Roberson, only had 12 points, though he scored his points on only 12 shots.

The Rockets discovered some rhythm offensively but they rarely made stops on the other end, with Westbrook fueling the Thunder at MVP levels. By the time Westbrook re-entered the game, Houston was energized, and the Thunder’s role players had just shown they weren’t quite ready for the moment. OKC picked a different poison in each of the first two games, so it’ll be interesting to see what Donovan will have them do in tonight’s matchup. Now, his help is not an All-Star at any position.

While playing all 12 minutes of the fourth, Westbrook went 4-for-18 from the field in the final frame with six of those misses coming from behind the arc.

Trail Blazers: The Blazers’ third-quarter scoring output was their lowest in any period this season — and tied for the fewest in a quarter by a Warriors playoff opponent in the shot clock era. Sure. But Westbrook can’t do anything about Enes Kanter’s turnstile defense.

“Just play”, Westbrook said. Gordon chipped in 22 points and Williams finished with 21. He takes the majority of shots on his team.

“Coming in the first two games we just wanted to take one”, Lillard said.

This concluded a 12-3 run put together by the Rockets in the waning minutes of the quarter.

“It didn’t surprise me”, D’Antoni said.

Asked about the fine after practice Friday, Westbrook said, “If somebody is cussing me, I hope they get it too”. Westbrook’s efficiency numbers dropped in kind, and those that think Harden should win MVP over Westbrook gained another point to make in their admittedly compelling case. Harden. Westbrook. Kawhi Leonard. Oladipo averaged almost 16 points per game in the four games against the Rockets in the regular season while shooting 46-percent from the field.

Still, there are areas for Houston to clean up.

Trend: The UNDER is 3-0 in the Rockets’ last three games at Oklahoma City. Along the way, he’s also become the league’s most polarizing player, one for whom everyone has an opinion of some kind. We understand what’s at stake here.

Both will have to knock down shots when they count the most to get back in the series, especially Oladipo. In the second half, we had a great collective effort.