In light of the dismissive words from Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, MVP frontrunner Russell Westbrook was more than happy to walk out of American Airline Center with a 92-91 win, pulling out all the stops in his 37th triple-double of the season.
Westbrook caught fire late and dropped 37 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists — sparking the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 35-point quarter, enough to make the sharp-tongued owner swallow his own words.
Cuban had previously doubled down on his denial of Westbrook as a superstar in the league, despite the 28-year-old's triple-double average for the season and a considerable lead in the standings.
The Long Beach native seemed unfazed after grabbing a 2-1 lead in the season series.
“I play every night the same way, I go out there and compete,” a cheerful Westbrook told Thunder beat writer Fred Katz. “What he says doesn't even matter to me. He's gonna do his job and I'm gonna do mine.”
The All-Star point guard's body of work has spoken for itself during this late stretch of the season, scoring 12 of OKC's 14 points in a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter, ultimately nailing the game-winning jumper with seven seconds to go to secure the win.
The loss was Dallas' 42nd of the season, marking the first time the Mavericks have had a losing record in the past 17 years.
Oklahoma City has now won seven of its last nine games, carving a secure niche in sixth place in the Western Conference and only one game behind an inconsistent L.A. Clippers team that comes off their worst fourth quarter performance of the season.
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