OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook set a career-high scoring mark with 58 points on Tuesday, although in a losing effort, as the Portland Trail Blazers topped the Thunder 126-121.
Westbrook hit 21-of-39 from the floor, 3-of-9 from 3 and 13-of-16 from the free throw line in 36 minutes, adding nine assists and three steals. His previous career high was 54, set against the Indiana Pacers in the 2014-15 season.
"I thought he played an unbelievable game tonight," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "I thought he was absolutely incredible."
The 58 points is a new high mark for the Thunder franchise in Oklahoma City, breaking the 54 that Westbrook shared with former teammate Kevin Durant.
Westbrook, who has been one of the NBA's top clutch-time performers all season, missed his final four shots, including a potential game-tying 3 with 15 seconds left. After starting 15-of-20, Westbrook went 6-of-19 to finish, including 6-of-15 in the fourth.
"Just missed 'em," Westbrook said. "Made 'em all game, missed that one. But ... it's all right."
Blazers coach Terry Stotts offered his take on the Thunder's star.
"Westbrook is a tremendous player, a one-man fast break," Stotts said. "The only thing was, he was shooting it so well in the first half that the percentage of shots Oklahoma City took from midrange was over half in the first half, and at halftime we just said stay with it. They're not going to shoot this well the rest of the game. And I like the way we competed in those situations."
Donovan and Westbrook both placed the blame for the loss on the Thunder's defensive effort, a common theme during the team's four-game losing streak.
"We put ourselves in that position when we should be defending at a high level," Westbrook said. "Those are definitely shots I'll live with because I'll make them nine out of 10; just happen to miss that one."
Westbrook leads the league in scoring, but the Thunder fell to 4-8 in games when he has attempted 30 or more shots. Only two other Thunder players scored in double-figures on Tuesday -- Victor Oladipo with 16 and Enes Kanter with 11.
"I thought he took really good shots," Donovan said of Westbrook. "If he's playing downhill and getting to the rim and he's going to take good shots, I was totally fine with it tonight.
"For our defense and where it was at for the majority of the game, I thought it was his ability and his will offensively that kept us right there."
Westbrook still maintains his triple-double average after 64 games, although he is edging dangerously closer to single digits in the assist category. He is averaging just 6.0 per game in March, bringing his overall average down to 10.03 per game. He needs to average 9.9 assists and 8.2 rebounds over the final 18 games to become the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1963-64 to average a triple-double.