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Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder now find themselves in the brink of elimination, as the Portland Trail Blazers lead the series 3-1 after a Game 4 win on Sunday night. However, fans can expect Westbrook to come out swinging, as he's put up scorching numbers in his last three elimination games.
Last three elimination games for Russell Westbrook
18-43 FG, 7-19 3FG, 46 points, L
17-39 FG, 5-9 3FG, 45 points, W
15-34 FG, 5-18 3FG, 47 points, LIf Russ is gonna go out, he's going out on his terms
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) April 23, 2019
As expected, Westbrook is rather known for volume than efficiency — failing to shoot over 45% in either of the last three elimination games.
Westbrook put up 47 points in a loss to the Houston Rockets during his MVP season in 2017, but it was all for naught, as the Thunder were eliminated in five games. The triple-double king had reached the feat in three out of the five games in that series, falling one assist short of doing it for four straight games in that series.
Down 3-1 in a series against the Utah Jazz last season, Westbrook went off for 45 points to stave off elimination in Game 5, but he was ultimately taken down in a 46-point effort, scoring more than half of his team's points in a 96-91 loss to the Jazz in 2018.
Things haven't gotten better for the Thunder, who once again look like a first-round out early in the postseason, failing to go beyond the initial part of the playoff since Kevin Durant's exit after a heartbreaking loss to the Golden State Warriors in 2016 after holding a 3-1 series lead.
One thing is sure though, the recent sample size tells us all that Russell Westbrook will take as many shots as he can to keep that from happening, averaging a surreal 38.7 shot attempts in those three games walking the plank.
