Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder get last words over Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Who knew Oklahoma City at Philadelphia would be perhaps the must-watch game of the season so far?

It went three overtimes before OKC finally got the last word, or make that two words, when Russell Westbrook told Joel Embiid to “go home.” Let’s pick up the report from ESPN’s Royce Young at that point:

“He told me to go home, man. I mean, this is my home, so I guess it’s on him to go home,” Embiid said. “They won the game. I give them a lot of credit — they did a lot of things. But I mean, the dude shot like 10-of-33. I wish I would’ve shot 33 times. I guess we would’ve had a better chance of actually winning the game. But he told me to go home, man. This is my home. I ain’t going nowhere.”

After Steven Adams fouled out in the third overtime, with Embiid forcing the foul, the Sixers big man pulled what has become a signature troll move, waving at Adams as he was disqualified from the game. Westbrook said he didn’t appreciate the gesture.

“I told him to go home,” Westbrook said. “He was talking mess to Steve-O — [who] fouled out — waving to the crowd, which is unnecessary. Waving to Steve-O bye. You know, now it’s time for him to go home.”

Things got chippy between Embiid and the Thunder earlier in the game, as he got into some trash-talking with Carmelo Anthony in the fourth quarter after Embiid scored an and-1 over Anthony.

Melo is right — Embiid is pure entertainment from all angles, someone who’s having a beastly season (healthy for a change) and will keep the fun going on social media or, in this instance, in the postgame media session.

What’s curious is how Embiid played 49 minutes, by far his busiest night in the NBA, and appeared to limp in the final moments and was never taken out of the game. He said he was fine, and this was a good sign in his first full season in the NBA. Clearly, the league is plenty better when he’s on the floor — and on social media.

This has become quite the road trip for the up-and-down Thunder, who played through the boos in Indiana during Paul George’s homecoming and now head to New York, where Knicks fans await Anthony.

But Jan. 28 could be an awaited night in the NBA when Philly plays in OKC.