The Nuggets needed a victory in their home finale Sunday to avoid being eliminated from playoff contention for the fourth consecutive season. If Denver kept its slim postseason hopes alive while Oklahoma City star Russell Westbrook set the NBA record for triple-doubles in a season on the Pepsi Center floor? “So be it,” the Nuggets coach said. So as fans rose to their collective feet in the fourth quarter, yanking out their camera phones in an attempt to catch a record-setting assist, the Nuggets went about trying to ignore history and keeping their season alive.
Westbrook got his record. Then he ended the Nuggets’ season. Westbrook completed a 50-point performance by nailing a 3-pointer at the buzzer that handed the Nuggets a 106-105 loss that eliminated Denver from the postseason. Westbrook caught the ball in the front court with less than two seconds left and launched from 36 feet away, adding one more magical moment in a season that could very well end in an MVP award.
