Westbrook succumbs to the Grindhouse, ejected in Grizzlies 34 point win
The Memphis Grizzlies (21-14) took full advantage of a Russell Westbrook ejection, ending an Oklahoma City Thunder (20-13) four-game winning streak in 34-point fashion.
Add Russell Westbrook to the list of All-Stars who have been personally victimized by the Grindhouse this season (See: Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson).
Yesterday, we posted a preview for the game that posed the question: Can the Grizzlies stop Russell Westbrook? Little did we know that Memphis would not only hold the Thunder superstar to ZERO assists, but that he would also receive back-to-back technicals, disqualifying him from the game.
Long story short: yep.
Mr. Triple Double’s ejection came in the third quarter Thursday night – the same quarter he tallied his 15th trip-dub of the season in Miami Tuesday night.
From there, the Grizzlies capitalized on an already comfortable 16-point lead, stretching it to 34 during the fourth quarter shooting extravaganza led by none other than Troy Daniels. The sharpshooter scored all 22 of his points in the fourth quarter on 6-for-8 shooting from three-point land.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Grizzlies | 27 | 28 | 23 | 36 | 114 |
| Thunder | 21 | 18 | 22 | 19 | 80 |
Marc Gasol led the way for Memphis, netting 25 points, eight rebounds and FIVE BLOCKS. Troy Daniels followed closely, scoring 22 points in less than 18 minutes of play. Zach Randolph, Sixth Man of the Year front-runner, added 21 points as well.
Ejection aside, Russell Westbrook still carried the load for the Thunder, with 21 points (and six turnovers) in his 23 minutes of action. Behind him, Enes Kanter and Alex Abrines were the only others to reach double-digits in scoring. The two had 19 and 10, respectively. Steven Adams led both teams in rebounding, pulling down 15.
The Grizzlies shot 52-percent from the field Thursday night, including a 59-percent effort from beyond-the-arc (13-22). Oklahoma City struggled, shooting 33-percent on the evening (18-percent from three).
Russell is not happy
Following his ejection, Russell Westbrook opened up to the media regarding his thoughts on NBA officiating:
This man was warned by the ref 3 times before he T'd him up and kept running his mouth he is so damn delusional pic.twitter.com/6Ltv9NI8IP
— Fletch (@BeauregardJones) December 30, 2016
What’s next?
The Memphis Grizzlies head to California today to prepare for the first leg of their four-game road trip. They will face the Sacramento Kings (Dec. 31), Los Angeles Lakers (Jan. 3), LA Clippers (Jan. 4) and the Golden State Warriors (Jan. 6). Four straight games in California doesn’t seem ALL that bad, does it?
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