In most seasons a game between the 10th seeded Washington Wizards and the 9th seed Indiana Pacers, entering the last week of the regular season, wouldn’t be the most interesting game in a given night but with the play-in tournament and the triple-double machine in Russell Westbrook, both teams gave a show on Saturday night.
The Pacers entered the fourth quarter with a 9-point lead but Washington started to get stops in the defensive end and get closer in the score. With less than a minute left, the game was tied 122 each. Westbrook gave the Wizards the lead with a layup but Indiana responded immediately with Caris Levert, who finished with 35 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists, to tie the game.
In the last play, Westbrook tried again with a jumper but missed. Although, in overtime, it came to the same situation with the ball in his hands but now, he managed to get the foul and knock down the two free throws. With a one-point lead for the Wizards, the Pacers drew a play to give LeVert the final shot and Russ appeared again to block the attempt.
Westbrook blocked the potential game winning shot ?pic.twitter.com/Ay5p4T4V4p
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 9, 2021
With the win, the Wizards sweep the regular-season series against the Pacers and move up to the 9th seed. Only with that, it was a great game but late in the third quarter, it was a historical night for Westbrook as he recorded his 181st triple-double, with 33 points, 19 rebounds, and 15 assists, to tie Oscar Robertson in the all-time list in NBA history.
Russell Westbrook is on the brink of breaking the all-time triple-double record.
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— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) May 9, 2021
And of course, the history-making assist was to his partner in crime Bradley Beal, who finished the game with 50 points.
THE HISTORY-MAKING ASSIST!@russwest44 to @RealDealBeal23 pic.twitter.com/RlfDuGmFZf
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) May 9, 2021
Now Westbrook has four more games in the regular season to get one triple-double more and claim the sole possession of the number one spot in the all-time list to keep making history.
