He finished the shot, raised his right hand, then flashed the three-point sign and enthusiastically smacked himself hard on the head.
Westbrook had answered the Knicks' defensive strategy with a crucial three-pointer of his own.
Now it was just a matter of which team's hot streak would end first.
The Knicks' possession.
Rose brought the ball across half court and looked for Chen Xi's pick-and-roll screen at the top of the key.
Then he seized an opening and drove into the paint, before dishing inside to Harten under the basket.
Harten caught the ball, gave a pump fake, got Miro to bite, then jumped again and laid it in.
Smack!!
Anthony Davis!
He came flying in from behind and swatted the ball away!
The ball slammed into the backboard, caromed off, and landed in Barrett's hands.
The Thunder took the opportunity to launch a counterattack.
Barrett had barely dribbled past the backcourt three-point line when he immediately whipped a long pass downcourt.
Westbrook caught it in the distance, accelerated, and charged straight toward the Knicks' paint.
Near the free-throw line, he faked a pass, fooled Toppin, then gathered the ball and leaped, smoothly laying it in.
After landing, Turtle Turtle excitedly took two more steps forward, then raised both hands high, stirring up cheers from the crowd.
Westbrook was putting on a spectacular performance, and the Thunder had finally unleashed the defense-to-offense transition game they did best this season.
It might have been a good sign.
Behind him, Toppin, whom Westbrook had shaken, went out of bounds along the baseline and took the ball the referee had just retrieved, preparing to inbound it.
Rose caught the ball, turned, and fired a long pass straight to Chen Xi, who was standing near the logo in the frontcourt.
Well, Chen had