Top 5 Russell Westbrook Triple-Doubles This Season
By Max Seng
2. Dec. 23, 2016 vs. Boston Celtics: 45 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists in Boston
The Boston Celtics and their massive fan base have seen tremendous basketball for 60+ years, first in the Boston Garden and now the TD Garden. Many Celtics season ticket holders have seen every notable NBA player play on some form of that signature parquet floor with the leprechaun at the center.
Westbrook’s showcase two days before Christmas Day may be in the discussion of most impressive individual performances ever put together in front of the Celtic faithful.
Bill Simmons and Joe House talked on The Bill Simmons Podcast about how Westbrook relished the Celtics fans uniting against him, snarling and mean mugging his way to absolute dominance of one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
This game ended up being a signature Russ game because of the myriad of acrobatic finishes through fouls and unabashed arrogance shooting from nearly 30 feet in clutch situations, and draining them. Neither Avery Bradley nor Marcus Smart had much success against Westbrook on this night, despite being two of the best perimeter defenders in the league.
The fact that it was done in Boston completes the story, giving those 18,000+ fans in attendance a memory they will not soon forget of Russell Westbrook singlehandedly dismantling their team. Boston knows good basketball, and on that night it was treated to a show the likes of which are rarely seen.