On a night where some dude on the other team scored some big round number of points, Julius Randle was off doing his own thing: contributing to the league’s ever growing triple-double count. I think this is number 81 on the season. Crazy! It seems like just a few years ago we hardly ever saw them (unless Ben Uzoh was playing).
Randle may have stat-padded a little bit to get this one, getting the last two assists way late in the game, but who cares? Assists are assists even if the guy you’re passing it to is purposefully shooting it so you can get credit for the dime. All the best assisters in the league get assists that way. It’s the reason for their success. You think Westbrook would be averaging a trip-dub if Roberson didn’t try shots he knows he shouldn’t be trying, only because Westbrook delivered him the ball?
Of note: Randle had the same exact triple-double in March of last year. Same totals for everything. Not the spookiest thing ever, but, you know, it’s kinda spooky. Right? I think it’s at least a little spooky. What are the chances, you know? Whatever.