The past couple of weeks showed why Jeremy Lin might be the Nets’ Most Valuable Player. Tuesday showed why Russell Westbrook might be the NBA’s.
The Nets’ play has improved with Lin’s return to the lineup after the All-Star break. But they couldn’t hold up under the Thunder’s physicality, couldn’t hold down triple-double machine Westbrook, and lost 122-104 in front of 13,911 hearty fans who braved the blizzard at Barclays Center.
The Nets had to hear those same fans cheer Westbrook throughout with chants of “MVP! MVP!” that shocked even the Thunder star. The crowd gave Westbrook an ovation when he clinched his 33rd triple-double of the season by snaring a Brook Lopez rebound with 4:50 to play.
“It caught me off guard. But for me it’s just a blessing to be able to hear that, especially on the road — fans that appreciate the game and me as a player and our team. It’s very humbling,’’ said Westbrook, who had 25 points, 19 assists and 12 rebounds.
Westbrook already had passed Wilt Chamberlain for the second-most triple-doubles in a season, and is just eight from tying Oscar Robertson’s 1961-62 mark. That’s the kind of company Westbrook is keeping these days. And that’s what the Nets (12-54) were dealing with Tuesday.
“Their physicality wore us down,’’ said coach Kenny Atkinson, whose team was outrebounded 44-30 and shot just 32.3 percent in getting outscored 60-42 after being tied 62-all at halftime.
“They’re definitely physical. They were just wearing on us on the boards, and in general,’’ said Lin, who relished facing Westbrook. “As a competitor you love these matchups. You just want to see where you stack up. He had a great game. He picked us apart and made a lot of great reads.”
Lopez scored 25 points, Caris LeVert added 16 points and a season-high three steals and Lin had a season-high 24 points with five assists in his most aggressive game since returning from a hamstring injury.
“I trusted my body the most in terms of getting back to attacking the basket,’’ said Lin, who is 6-13 as a starter while the Nets are 6-41 without him in the starting lineup.
The Nets used 26 different combinations, and the one they used Tuesday — Lin, Lopez and LeVert alongside Randy Foye and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson — is 3-5, but couldn’t handle the Thunder (38-29).
Victor Oladipo had 21 points and Fort Greene native Taj Gibson added 17 for Oklahoma City, which was tied with the Nets after a quarter (32) and at halftime (62).
Brooklyn led 73-72 after LeVert’s free throws midway through the third and was still within 77-76 before they coughed up a 10-2 Thunder run. Oklahoma City’s Semaj Christon hit a short jumper, and after Spencer Dinwiddie got blocked by Andre Roberson, Christon found Alex Abrines for a 3 and 89-78 Thunder lead. The Nets never challenged again.
“You always have to match or supersede their physicality and intensity,’’ Lopez said.
“They kept up their energy the whole game. We got stagnant and looked tired,’’ Trevor Booker said. “We stuck with them the first half, matched their energy and physicality, and the second half might have took a toll on us.”
Of the crowd cheering for Westbrook, Rockville Centre-bred Thunder coach Billy Donovan said, “Being from New York, I think New York fans appreciate guys that give it all they got and they play hard and with a fire, a passion and intensity.”
Westbrook needs to average 8.8 assists and 7.5 boards over the final 15 games to finish with a triple-double.
Sean Kilpatrick logged just 6:34 and left in the second quarter with a hamstring injury that Atkinson didn’t feel was overly serious.
Lin made a guest appearance on Tuesday’s episode of the ABC sitcom “Fresh Off The Boat.” He appeared in a flashback sequence at a bar with Randall Park, as well as guest stars Ali Wong and Ming Na.
In Michael Lewis’ book “The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds,” Houston GM Daryl Morey acknowledged that stereotypes against Asians played a role in Lin going undrafted in 2010.
“He’s incredibly athletic,” Morey said in the book. “But the reality is that everyperson, including me, thought he was unathletic. And I can’t think of any reason for it other than he was Asian.”