A poised and productive Ricky Rubio has been smiling and laughing, masterfully running the Jazz’s offense in his matchup with the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook.
Meanwhile, the reigning league MVP has been scowling, shoving, fouling, complaining and most of all — losing.
It’s fair to say Rubio has been more effective for the Jazz.
The Rubio-Westbrook matchup mirrors what is happening throughout the NBA playoffs: The team that gets the best point guard play usually wins.
Rubio has the Jazz on the brink of advancing, holding a 3-1 lead on the Thunder and they can finish the series Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.
He summed up his play after Game 2, saying “I did my job, looking for my teammates, and looking for my shot too when it was open. I just took what the game gave me.”
Rubio is averaging 18.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8 assists per game against the Thunder, all well above his regular season numbers.
Westbrook has lost his focus at times. He is averaging 21.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists in the series, but he’s shooting just 37 percent from the field.
Rubio went for a triple-double in a Game 3 victory.
Westbrook said he’d shut down Rubio in Game 4.
His efforts backfired. Westbrook was overly aggressive and had four fouls at halftime. The Jazz rolled 113-96.
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