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The reigning Most Valuable Player in Russell Westbrook was not happy with himself after a disappointing fourth-quarter stretch wound out as a key loss for the highly-talented yet utterly-inconsistent Oklahoma City Thunder, surrendering their fourth place in the Western Conference playoff race to the grizzled and battle-tested San Antonio Spurs.
During crunch time, the ball was right where had Westbrook wanted it, right in his very hands — but his decision-making had gone from the endless heroics seen last season to utter disappointment this year. First off, an airball in a 28-foot 3-point attempt with 2:09 left in the clock, and then another one — a cross-legged, pike-like attempt over the shorter 5-foot-11 Patty Mills, that also fell short of the rim, this time with 12.6 seconds left in regulation.
Westbrook was 2-of-8 from the floor in an ugly 18-point fourth quarter for the Thunder, having two costly turnovers, which led to sheer frustration in the locker room, not ready to face the sea of reporters.
“What do you think?” he said, his eyes blinking roughly 400 times, a classic Westbrook tell of annoyance, according to ESPN's Royce Young. “You know me.”
He shortly walked off without addressing any questions — a telltale sign of his annoyance and disappointment with his own performance, having cost his team the fourth seed they worked so tirelessly to get.
Yet head coach Billy Donovan's faith in his star never wavered. noting he would do it again and again, based on his faith in his abilities.
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“I trust him in those situations. He's very bright and he's very smart,” Donovan said about his decision. “I'm going to trust him in those situations.”
“I never think it's about that, as much as I think it's about the competitiveness and the willingness to go out and try and win a game. I've always admired the fact that he doesn't shy away from that. And it kind of makes him who he is as a player.”
“And more often than not, you're not going to make as many game-winning shots as you're going to miss. That's just the reality of it. But it's the courage to go up there and do that night in and night out and have a belief in yourself to make those kind of shots.”
The Thunder have only won one of their last four games, and that has been costly — first losing to the Boston Celtics in a Marcus Morris game-winner, then to the streaking Portland Trail Blazers, failing to inch closer to the third seed, then lastly to the Spurs, who hold a home-record advantage, despite being tied in the season series 2-2.
Things don't get any easier for Westbrook and the Thunder, as they face three playoff teams in the last six games of the season, including the top-seeded Houston Rockets, the Golden State Warriors, and the Miami Heat in a span of six days.
