RUSSELL WESTBROOK came into Wednesday night on as hot a run as any player in the NBA, but he opened the Oklahoma City Thunder’s meeting with the Washington Wizards — and his old head coach, Scott Brooks — about as frigid as can be.

    The do-everything All-Star point guard missed seven of his first eight shots — including four layups and an attempted dunk — and the Wizards capitalized on his sluggish start, taking a 13-point lead after the first quarter.

    With the Wizards holding a 105-102 lead and 17.6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Westbrook created enough space against Wizards guard Bradley Beal to step back behind the 3-point arc and fire a game-tying triple.

    He hadn’t made one all night, but this one splashed through the net with 8.5 seconds left, sending Chesapeake Energy Arena into hysterics and knotting the game at 105.

    The Wiz had a chance to end it, but after throwing a killer crossover to work around Jerami Grant and earn his way into the lane, Washington point guard John Wall decided to look for a pass rather than his shot, leading to a deflection, a scramble for the ball and a just off try by Otto Porter, sending the game to overtime.

    That would be the Wizards’ last, best chance, as the Thunder came roaring out of the gates in OT, scoring the first eight points of the extra session — four by Westbrook, one by Grant (after offensive rebounding a Westbrook miss) and three by Victor Oladipo (assisted by Westbrook) — as part of a 13-2 run that broke the game open and sent OKC to a 126-115 win.

    After dropping three straight to the Pacers, Lakers and Kings, the Thunder have now won four in a row. In what might be a related story, Westbrook posted his fourth straight triple-double Wednesday.

    Westbrook finished with a game-high 35 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists — his league-leading ninth triple-double of the season, in just 20 games, and the 46th of his career — to go with two steals in 41 minutes of work.

    (SD-Agencies)