Russell Westbrook recognized play on Thunder's final possession: 'I knew where the ball was going'

The Houston Rockets held on to win Game 7 and the series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Wednesday night in large part due to some great defensive plays by the team down the stretch. On the final possession, the Thunder had a chance to tie or win the game but they were unable to complete an inbound pass thanks to Westbrook anticipating a potential pass to Danilo Gallinari, forcing the Thunder to attempt a pass to Steven Adams that was broken up as time expired.

Westbrook was asked after the game if he knew what the play was because it was his former team and he confirmed he recognized it.

"Yeah, I kind of know a little bit," Westbrook said with a smile.

There's a good reason that Westbrook remembered that play design, as it was a similar play that allowed Westbrook to hit a game-winning three-pointer for the Thunder back in 2017, the same game where Westbrook broke Oscar Robertson's record for triple-doubles in a season. Knowing where the ball was likely headed allowed Westbrook to disrupt the play and help the Rockets move on to the next round, while the Thunder were forced to head home after a long and difficult series.

"I just wanted to mix it up because I knew they [were] out of timeouts and I knew where the ball was going," Westbrook explained. "So I just tried to muck it up."

The Rockets are scheduled to begin their second-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers Friday night.