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PHOENIX -- Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook fell short of setting an NBA record for triple-doubles in a season in a 120-99 loss against the Phoenix Suns on Friday. Westbrook missed his first 12 shots from the field and finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. He remains tied with Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson with 41 triple-doubles. Robertson accomplished the feat for the Cincinnati Royals during the 1961-62 season.
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Westbrook assured himself of becoming only the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season, joining Robertson, with his sixth assist when he fed Victor Oladipo for a layup with 10:36 left in the third period.
The Thunder (43-34) is now locked into the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Devin Booker scored 21 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Suns, and T.J. Warren had 23 as the Suns (23-57) snapped a 13-game losing streak. Six Suns scored in double figures and the team shot 52 percent from the field
Westbrook's chance to make history was hampered by a miserable first half. He had five turnovers in the first quarter, including three in the first three minutes. And while Westbrook was stuck in neutral, the Suns sped away.
Warren had 11 of his 15 first-half points in the first quarter and the Suns had 24 of their 32 points in the paint to build a 13-point lead. Booker had six points in the final 1:59, including a driving layup with 2.1 seconds left to put the Suns up 32-19 after one.
And while Westbrook continued to struggle, the Suns put up 39 points in the second quarter and pushed their lead to as many as 28 when Warren's jumper made it 71-43 Phoenix with 50.4 seconds left. The Suns shot 61 percent for the half and set a season high for points in the first half.
Westbrook made his first basket on a 17-footer with 1:20 left in the half and followed with a three-point play to pull the Thunder within 71-48 at the half. He finished the half with six points, seven rebounds three assists and six turnovers.
Oklahoma City came out on fire on the third quarter with an 18-6 run and cut the Phoenix lead to 11 at 77-66 on two Westbrook free throws with 6:33 left. But the Suns ended the quarter on an 18-6 run of their own and restored their lead to 23 points at the end of the quarter at 95-72 on a Derrick Jones Jr. jumper with 0.2 of a second left.
The Thunder never got closer than 15 points in the fourth quarter.
NOTES: Thunder G Russell Westbrook had averaged 41.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and 13.7 assists in three previous games against the Suns this season, including games of 51 points (Oct. 28) and 48 points (March 3), becoming the first player to ever score 45 or more points against Phoenix twice in the same year. ... Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan on coaching Westbrook: "I'll never take for granted that your best player ... you never have to crank up. I never walk into that locker room think, 'Geez, I hope he's ready to play tonight. I've never done that in two years." ... Forward Marquese Chriss made his 73rd start of the season for the Suns. That is the third most by a rookie in franchise history and the other two (81 by Walter Davis in 1977-78 and 79 by Alvan Adams in 1975-76) were named the NBA Rookie of the Year.
