But when the Thunder pulled off a Game 5 stunner against Utah to save their season on Wednesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena, winning 107-99 after trailing by as many as 25 points midway through the third quarter and tying the third-largest postseason comeback in NBA history, this much became clear: For good and for bad, this team goes the way of the mercurial Russell Westbrook.
The reigning MVP was at his Jekyll-and-Hyde best when it mattered most, scoring 20 of his 45 points during a 32-7 run in the third quarter that turned it all around and reminded us of two realities: Westbrook, who also had 15 rebounds and seven assists, and five-time All-Star Paul George (12 of his 34 points during that run) are tremendous offensive talents, and the Jazz are a mediocre team when big man Rudy Gobert isn’t on the floor.
Just before the Thunder run that would force Game 6 in Salt Lake City on Friday, the 7-foot-1 Gobert – who is widely expected to win the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award – was forced to the bench after receiving his fourth foul. Even the league’s best scorers have struggled all season long to figure out how to score against the “Stifle Tower,” none moreso than Westbrook in this series (he entered shooting 36.7% in the first four games, and hit 13 of 31 shots in Game 5). In all, the run lasted eight minutes and 34 seconds, with Gobert – who returned briefly during that span only to draw his fifth foul – only able to take part in 1:21 of the unraveling.
Still, Westbrook’s surge was a sight to behold. And after this regular season in which they were perhaps the most inconsistent team in the NBA, it only made sense that this would be the latest turn.
Westbrook hit five of nine three-pointers in all – two more than he’d had in the four games combined coming in (three of 14). He redeemed himself after the humbling past few outings, when Utah’s Ricky Rubio had turned in a triple-double against him in Game 3 only to set the stage for a Game 4 in which Westbrook’s overcorrection on the defensive end led to his ill-fated foul trouble. At a time when George’s free agency future is on the line, and when Westbrook’s reputation was in danger of taking a bit of a downturn, Russ and his Thunder responded.
