The Thunder scored the biggest win of their season on Saturday night when they took everything the Rockets could dish out and beat the best team in basketball, 108-102.

Afterward, Russell Westbrook spoke with Doris Burke of ESPN.

“We are a tough group, when we’re playing our best, nobody can beat us,” Westbrook said.

“I stand strong by that and I always believe in the guys in the locker room and we did a great job of competing tonight.”

That they did.

It was a rare occurrence when all three of the Thunder’s big three scored at least 20 points. Westbrook and George each scored 24 while Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points of his own.

For the Thunder, however, the game was won on the defensive side of the ball. They held the Rockets to just 40 second half points, including 19 in the fourth quarter. Westbrook took it upon himself to guard James Harden and did a great job in limiting this year’s probable MVP.

“Defensively is something that we stand by and something that I stand by,” Westbrook said. “I try to go out every night and leave it out on the floor on both sides and do what I need to do to help my team win games.”

Westbrook has earned the nickname of ‘Ironman’ from those that know him well, mainly due to the reckless abandon with which he plays the game. It was on fully display for the Thunder on Saturday night, as he simply refused to allow his team to lose.

As a result, the Thunder will enter play on April 8 needing just one more win to clinch a playoff berth.

“You gotta sacrifice a lot of things off the floor, be focused, be locked in, be consistent,” Westbrook said of how he’s able to sustain such effort over the course of a long season.

“I don’t take for granted to play the game I love… I just try to go out and give it everything I have because you never knew when the game can be taken away from you.”

Up next for the Thunder is the final road game of the season. They’ll visit the Heat in Miami for a Monday night contest and have an opportunity to finally punch their ticket for the postseason. They’ll end their season with a home game against the Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

A win in either contest with qualify the Thunder for the postseason, and if we see the same team in either of those games as we saw on Saturday night, they’ll certainly be playing in the playoffs next weekend.