NBA Top Five Performances, April 9: Russell Westbrook Flirts with Triple Double Clinch No. 5 Seed for Los Angeles Clippers

TOP PLAYERS OF THE DAY:

Russell Westbrook was criticized heavily during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, but he is slowly changing that narrative since arriving with the Clippers. He has displayed several performances reminiscent of his days with the Oklahoma City Thunder, including his 25 points, seven rebounds and nine assists to defeat the Phoenix Suns. Though inconsistent at times, Westbrook is averaging 20.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists in his last four games. The Clippers will need him to continue this level of play heading into the postseason, especially in the absence of star forward Paul George. They face the Suns again in the first round, but will need a much stronger team performance.

“I ain't talking about this game,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “It's over, we're in the playoffs, so I wanna focus on that. We didn't play our best game, but whatever’s behind us, we gotta focus on the bigger picture.”

OTHERS:

- Karl-Anthony Towns’ 30-point performance helped the Minnesota Timberwolves rally against the New Orleans Pelicans to clinch the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Towns had 12 fourth quarter points in the absence of Rudy Gobert for the second half of the game.

- Steph Curry led a record-setting performance by the Golden State Warriors with 26 points on 5 of 10 shooting from 3-point range.

- LeBron James helped the Los Angeles Lakers hold off the Utah Jazz after putting up 36 points with eight shots from the arc.

- Despite the loss, Memphis Grizzlies rookie forward Kenneth Lofton Jr. had 42 points and 14 rebounds against the Thunder.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.