LeBron James and Russell Westbrook had been close friends during the duo played for the Lakers. Later, the Lakers’ front office had to trade the latter to bring some balance to the roster. They had a much better season with the new squad after trading Westbrook. Russell was kind of a burden to the roster as he could not contribute to the team as well as he was supposed to. Westbrook was making his presence felt only via his name and fame but not with his game. So, the front office decided to give him up as he was just a waste of money.
Finally, in February, the Lakers traded Russell Westbrook to Utah Jazz in a three-team contract, with the Timberwolves being the third team. Later, he signed with the Clippers. But it has not been a happy partying way between James and Westbrook. Even Anthony Davis had mentioned publicly that it is much better without the point guard. Hence, it was pretty predictable that whenever the Lakers would meet their city rivals, it would be a bit personal. That is what happened during the Los Angeles derby last night.
Westbrook Enjoyed Taunting James Last Night
The Lakers had a winning streak working pretty well for them before they met the Clippers. The LeBron James-led side won four matches in a row after they lost to the Bulls in the King’s return. They were hoping to continue the momentum, but the Clippers had something else on their minds. The Clippers dominated the majority part of the game since the beginning. But later, the Lakers returned with a surge to decrease the deficit. Albeit, it did not help them win the game. It was a crucial game to confirm their place in the top six. But after the loss, it looks like the Clippers will go to the top six instead.
Westbrook coming for LeBron's Neck 👀 pic.twitter.com/7vl2fSGivU
— Zierough (@Zierough) April 6, 2023
LeBron James passes to Russell Westbrook on the Clippers bench.
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 6, 2023
Russ pointed to him and said ‘good pass!’ 😂
pic.twitter.com/ueqBOEdAX0
Westbrook enjoyed the whole day dominating his former franchise. He also made an extra effort to challenge LeBron James occasionally. The Clippers point guard only scored 14 points, but every chance he got to taunt James, he did. On the other hand, LeBron James had a slow start but came back strong to score 33 points in the Crypto.com arena last night. However, the late fightback from the Lakers against the city rivals saw them make the score 125-118. It was not as close as it sounds. The Clippers enjoyed a steady ten points lead for most of the game.
Lakers In Deep Trouble After Loss Against Clippers
Clearly, this loss does not help the Lakers at all. The Darvin Ham’s side was hoping to reach the playoffs avoiding the play-in. However, it looks like the Lakers have no other choice. Albeit, the Lakers still have a couple of games to go. They need to win both of those games to raise their chances of finishing in the top six.
The Clippers and the Warriors have one more game-win advantage over the Lakers at present. The Clippers reached the 5th seed over the Warriors at the 6th at present. Overall it was a great day of revenge and results for Westbrook.