Russell Westbrook first player since '09 with three straight triple doubles
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook became the first player since LeBron James in 2009 to post three consecutive triple doubles on Friday night in a 115-112 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Westbrook scored 40 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out 11 assists. That followed previous games in which he recorded 39-14-11 and 20-11-10 in those three categories, respectively.
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[daily_cut.NBA] Over 45 games this season, Westbrook has averaged career-highs in points (26.5), rebounds (6.8) and assists (8.1) while emerging as a possible candidate for the Most Valuable Player award. In the final seconds of Friday night's loss, Westbrook absorbed an inadvertent knee to the face from teammate Andre Roberson.
Westbrook underwent a procedure on Saturday to fix his zygomatic arch bone and will miss the Thunder's game against the Lakers in Los Angeles on Sunday.