Russell Westbrook crossed midcourt, Paul George flanking him on the wing, the Oklahoma City Thunder down three with 18 seconds left. nfl jerseys cheap china It was painstakingly obvious as to what was coming next; it was just a matter of how tough, how far and if this upcoming 3-point attempt went in or not.
Westbrook took a dribble to cut back to his left, clearing enough space from Patty Mills to launch. Westbrook knew it the second it left his hand, chasing after his shot as it missed everything and hit the baseline. Westbrook continued running, leaning onto the basket stanchion, slapping the padding. The San Antonio Spurs inbounded, hit some free throws, Paul George hit a 3, the Spurs hit some more free throws and that was it, a 103-99 loss as San Antonio seized control of the 4-seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Two minutes earlier, Westbrook caught all air on another 3-pointer, this one with the Thunder down five. The play-by-play lists it as a 28-footer, but it felt more like a 48-footer, and came with five seconds left on the shot clock.
Westbrook loves late-clock shots, with his unflinching confidence often seeming to will the ball in the basket. This one didn’t have that outcome, and is the kind of shot that keeps Westbrook forever polarizing. He can take a defensive rebound and run 94 feet for a dunk in five seconds, but the call of the wild 3 is too much to turn down.
It put a cap on an ugly fourth quarter for the Thunder, with just 18 points, and Westbrook at the heart of it. He went 2-of-8 from the floor, and had two costly turnovers. He sat at his locker after the game in his full uniform, authentic nfl jerseys slouched deep into his chair, staring blankly at nothing in particular. He stood up, leaning over to grab his feet, and stood like that for a few seconds. The weight of the loss, and the aftermath of the misses, seemed to be hanging on Westbrook. But when asked if he looks back on them with any regret, Westbrook held serve.
“What do you think?” he said, his eyes blinking roughly 400 times, a classic Westbrook tell of annoyance. “You know me.”
