Cavaliers' James, Thunder's Westbrook named Players of Month for December

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James and the Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month for games played in December, the NBA said on Friday.

James ranked first in the Eastern Conference in assists, third in scoring and eighth in rebounding as the Cavaliers went 9-5 in December. The four-time NBA MVP finished second in the East with nine double-doubles and recorded a conference-best five triple-doubles this season, including three straight from Dec. 14-17. He notched at least 20 points in 13 of 14 games and recorded five games with 30 or more points.

Westbrook averaged a triple-double of 27.8 points (fourth in the NBA), 10.6 assists (tops in the NBA) and 10.2 rebounds (fourth in the West) as the Thunder went 12-5 for the month, including wins over the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors. He shot 50.0 percent or better from the field in seven of his last nine games for the month. On Dec. 22, Westbrook's game-winning three-pointer capped a 30-point, 15-assist performance in a 120-117 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Enditem