Russell Westbrook makes NBA history with the Nuggets-Knicks

The Denver Nuggets were defeated by the New York Knicks on Monday night with a final score of 145-118. It was a poor performance for many Denver players, as even three-time MVP Nikola Jokic failed to perform at his usual pace.

Denver was led in scoring by 17-year veteran Russell Westbrook, who had 27 points off the bench. Westbrook scored 24 of those points in the fourth quarter, the highest-scoring quarter of his Hall of Fame career.

This fourth quarter for Westbrook also made NBA history. With his dominant final frame, Westbrook became just the third player, joining Michael Jordan and Jamal Crawford, at least 36 years old to score 24 points or more in a single quarter (via Basketball Reference’s StatHead).

The NBA’s quarter-specific data only goes back to the 1996-97 season, but Westbrook, Crawford and Jordan have since become the only players aged 36 or older to score at least 24 points in a quarter. Jordan accomplished this at age 38 when he scored 24 points in the first quarter against the Charlotte Hornets. Crawford achieved the feat at age 39 when he scored 26 points in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks in 2019.

This is a very impressive list that Westbrook has joined, and it’s just one way he made history against New York. With his 405th 25-point game of his career, Westbrook tied Hall of Fame forward John Havlicek for the 30th most such games in NBA history (via StatHead).

Westbrook was still playing at a high level in his 17th season and was a great addition to the Nuggets.

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