Wednesday night brought some highs and some lows for Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook.
Upside? He won the NBA's scoring title with an average of 28.1 points per game for the season.
Downside? Despite the Thunder's 138-113 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team still missed this year's playoffs as Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans clinched the eighth seed in the Western Conference with their own win Wednesday over the San Antonio Spurs.
Talking to reporters after the game, Westbrook said the scoring title doesn't mean "shit" to him, since his season is over and the Thunder's five-year playoff streak has ended.
"It doesn’t mean nothing. Good job. Hooray. I’m at home, watching other teams play. It doesn’t mean nothing," Westbrook said.
Westbrook's teammate Kevin Durant, who has been sidelined with an injury, earned the NBA's scoring title last year. Westbrook and Durant are the first teammates to take home the title in back-to-back years since Paul Arizin and Neil Johnston of the Philadelphia Warriors won scoring titles in the 1951-52 and 1952-53 seasons, respectively.
Westbrook had a stand out season with 11 triple-doubles (the most during a regular season since Jason Kidd racked up 13 during the 2007-2008 season). He also set two new franchise records last night with 23 points in the first quarter and 34 points in the first half. Westbrook also scored a career-high 54 points in a game this season, tying Durant's franchise record for points in a regular season game.
Westbrook has been included in the candidate discussion for the NBA's MVP this year along with Houston's James Harden and Golden State's Stephen Curry. Wonder if winning that one would cheer up Russ?
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