We're just a handful of days removed from Russell Westbrook deciding to stonewall reporters after a win, answering questions only by repeatedly praising the Oklahoma City Thunder's "execution" before flat-out telling Oklahoman columnist Berry Tramel he straight up doesn't like him. Apparently, though, we're far enough away to laugh about it. (Berry might not agree.)
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After another big night to help pace the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 94-86 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday, Westbrook joined Ernie Johnson, Isiah Thomas and Chris Webber during NBA TV's "Fan Night" broadcast to discuss the four-wins-in-five-games run that has the finally mostly healthy Thunder above .500 for the first time this season. As their time together wound down, E.J., with a glint in his eye, elected to get his Columbo on:
It's a shame that we didn't actually get a response to the "execution" question on a night that saw OKC shoot just 44.6 percent as a team, but still manage to bully Miami inside (a 54-36 edge in points in the paint, a 19-8 advantage in second-chance points) and force 21 Heat turnovers that turned into 22 Thunder points. But at least we know that Ernie, Zeke and C-Webb are in Russ' cool book. That's something, I suppose!
Westbrook's performance was quite something, too:
The whirling-dervish point man scored 19 points on 8-for-17 shooting, 10 rebounds, six assists, four steals and three turnovers in 35 minutes of work. Six of his points and a pair of dimes came during a pivotal four-minute stretch late in the fourth that helped Oklahoma City build a 10-point lead. Westbrook scored or assisted on the Thunder's final 14 points to help hold off Miami, improving Oklahoma City to 21-20 and getting Scott Brooks' club back to three games behind the Phoenix Suns for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoff race.
“He led us,” the Thunder head coach said after the game, according to Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman. “He led us on a night that we weren’t making a lot of our shots ... But he kept his composure and got us in our sets. And we did a good job of being patient and executing and waiting for the play to develop.”
There's that word again.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
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