Oklahoma City Thunder: 3 takeaways from pivotal Game 3 vs. Blazers

1. Russell Westbrook keeps his word

After the Thunder were soundly defeated 114-94 in Game 2, Russell Westbrook – who scored 14 points on 5-of-20 shooting from the field while committing six turnovers – was more than willing to put the blame on himself for his team’s poor performance.

"“Tonight, we lost, and I’m going to take full responsibility of that because the way I played was unacceptable and I’m going to be better. I’m not worried one bit,” he said, via OregonLive.com."

Not only did Westbrook play poorly in Game 2, he hadn’t played that well in the series as a whole. He shot just 35 percent from the field and was just 1-for-10 from beyond the arc.

Game 3 was a completed different story though, as the former MVP went off for 33 points on 11-of-22 shooting from the field to go along with 11 assists and five rebounds.

Even more to the point, he knocked down four of his six attempts from 3-point range. Thanks to an outstanding performance from Westbrook, the Thunder have trimmed the series deficit to 2-1.

However, if OKC has any hopes of winning the series, it will need the rest of the players, including PG-13 (22 points on 3-of-16 shooting), to continue to have impactful performances the rest of the way.