Clippers' Russell Westbrook makes statement in win over former team
Russell Westbrook made a pointed statement to his old team Wednesday night.
Westbrook's new team, the LA Clippers, soundly beat his old team, the Los Angeles Lakers, 125-118, in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the final score.
Playing in the same Crypto.com Arena where home fans derisively shouted "Westbrick" at him, Westbrook scored 14 points on 6-12 shooting, including 2-4 from three-point range, doing the majority of his damage in the first quarter.
He also spent the game constantly pointing at his old teammate, LeBron James. Like after he sank a jumper.
Or when an errant pass from James found Westbrook on the Clippers bench.
While James finished with 33 points, 30 of them came after halftime, when the Clippers held a 19-point lead. He finished with six turnovers, and all of his points came while the Lakers were trailing by double digits.
Clearly, Westbrook was motivated to beat his old team, who went into the game with the same 41-38 record as the Clippers. Now the Clippers have the inside track for the five seed, and the Lakers are likely to end up in the play-in.
Westbrook may have been pointing fingers at the Lakers, but according to Anthony Davis, the Lakers were targeting him as part of their defensive game plan.
The Lakers planned to let Westbrook shoot the ball, and he made them. Not a crazy idea for a player who shot 41.7 percent for the Lakers, but Westbrook has upped that to a respectable 48.4 percent in 18 games with the Clippers.
That's not to say the Lakers regret letting Westbrook go. They've gone 14-7 since trading Westbrook away, while the Clippers are 9-10 in the Westbrook era. But if the Lakers find themselves in a single-game elimination, they'll be the ones pointing fingers at each other.
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