Russell Westbrook wins scoring crown with 27.4 ppg, edging James Harden
— -- MINNEAPOLIS -- With an emphatic 37-point game against the Minnesota Timberwolves to close the season in a 138-113 win, Russell Westbrook is the 2014-15 scoring champion with an average of 28.1 points per game.
James Harden finished second with a 27.4 average after scoring 16 in a 117-91 win over Utah.
Westbrook had 23 points in the first quarter (a new Thunder record) and 34 points in the first half (also a new Thunder record). "He's had a season for the ages," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "He's done things on both ends, rebounding, passing, scoring, defending, that hasn't been seen in decades."
However, even with the Thunder's win, they missed out on the playoffs for the first time since their inaugural season in Oklahoma City.
"Sh--," Westbrook said when asked what the scoring title means to him. "It doesn't mean nothing. Good job. Hooray. I'm at home. Watching other teams play. Doesn't mean nothing."
Westbrook said at shootaround earlier in the day he'd "rather be in the playoffs than win the scoring title, to tell you the truth."
With the Pelicans beating the Spurs, the Thunder were eliminated by virtue of a tiebreaker in New Orleans' favor. It's only the fifth time since 1976 a scoring champion misses the playoffs, and the first time since Tracy McGrady in the 2004 season.
Five out of the last six scoring titles have come from a Thunder player ( Kevin Durant has won four of the last five), and this is the first time since the 1952 and 1953 seasons (Paul Arizin and Neil Johnston with the Philadelphia Warriors) players on the same team have won back-to-back scoring titles.
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