Russell Westbrook dedicates 20-20-20 game to Nipsey Hussle in win over Lakers

Not since Wilt Chamberlain did it in 1968 had a player notched 20 points, 20 rebounds and 20 assists in a single game.

And when Russell Westbrook did it in the Thunder’s 119-103 win over the Lakers, his thoughts turned immediately to his friend Nipsey Hussle, the rapper who was killed on Sunday, and whose death rocked Los Angeles and the NBA.

“That wasn’t for me, man,” said Westbrook, who went to high school in Lawndale and college at UCLA. “That was for my bro, man. That was for Nipsey. Twenty plus 20 plus 20. They know what that means, man. That’s for my bro. Rest in peace, Nipsey.”

Added together, the numbers were significant to Hussle. The Rollin’ 60s was a notorious Crips gang clique that Hussle joined as a teenager. Last year, Hussle told The Times about the post-traumatic stress that came with living in what he called a “war zone,” where death was so common the residents felt immune to it.

In the decade and a half since then, Hussle became a successful rapper who used his money to invest in the South Los Angeles community where he grew up. Over the years he befriended players all over the NBA.

“We’ve been talking about it the last couple of days, we’ve taken it pretty hard,” Lakers guard Rajon Rondo said. “A lot of guys knew him personally. Condolences to his family. It’s sad what happened, obviously. He’s a legend, he’s a king to where he’s from and around the world. He had a great message, setting a great example for a lot of young people and people where he’s from, so, he was a great man.”

As word spread on social media of the shooting, several players reacted. LeBron James, whose season ended Friday after the Lakers played the Hornets, was sitting on the team’s bench in New Orleans. He posted a message on Twitter that included an emoji of two hands praying and Hussle’s Twitter handle.

By the time the Lakers left the arena for the night, Hussle was pronounced dead.

Over the next 24 hours, James sent four more tweets expressing his devastation at Hussle’s death.

Lance Stephenson, who said he was close with Hussle, declined to talk about the rapper on Tuesday evening.

Their teammates aren’t pushing them to talk about anything.

“I feel like they’re all just thinking about the time they had with him, and they’re still trying to process it at the same time,” said Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who met Hussle a few times through James. “That was tough on everybody. That pretty much hurt the whole city.”

Said Alex Caruso: “Any time you lose somebody that you know that’s a friend, especially such a good person, such a good human, it’s going to take some time. Really just giving those guys all the space they need and being here for them for it.”

Westbrook didn’t say much after the game about his connection to Hussle. But nothing would stop him from accomplishing that feat Tuesday night.

With 1:04 left in the game, Westbrook was so tantalizingly close that he wasn’t going to let the status of the game dictate whether he played. He had 20 points, 21 assists and 18 rebounds at that moment, and when Raymond Felton tried to check in during a timeout, Westbrook waved him off.

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He almost grabbed his 19th and 20th rebounds on the same possession, but after grabbing his 19th off a missed free throw, Mike Muscala denied Westbrook his 20th.

At the other end of the court, Westbrook waited under the basket for the next Lakers miss. Isaac Bonga shot the ball, missed, and Westbrook made history.

The game stopped to recognize Westbrook as soon as he caught it. By then, that milestone was all that remained; the Thunder’s win was in hand.

Westbrook finished with 20 points, 21 assists and 20 rebounds.

“It’s huge, man,” Westbrook told reporters after the game. “I can’t honestly — I’m not gonna try to put it into words, but like I said on the floor, man, that’s who it’s for, and I’m gonna leave it at that.”

Westbrook wore a shirt that said “Crenshaw” in his postgame interviews. It was a shirt from Hussle’s clothing line. Hussle’s store is on Crenshaw Boulevard and Slauson Avenue, and on Sunday he was killed in front of it.

tania.ganguli@latimes.com

Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli