NEW YORK — Russell Westbrook was tremendous within the last half of the l. a. Lakers’ 106-100 loss to the big apple Knicks, rating twenty-five of his game-high thirty one points when the break to assist get his team back to a game within which it trailed by as several as twenty-five points within the half.
The factor is, L.A. had to claw back from that deficit partly due to Westbrook’s first-half play. He had six points on 1-for-5 shooting and 5 turnovers before the break.
“He simply clicks,” Anthony Davis aforesaid of Westbrook’s midgame changes. “I do not know if he sees a match-up he likes, or someone’s reprimanded him on the opposite team, or a fan. i am undecided. however no matter it’s, we have a tendency to simply would like that the complete game as a result of it helps United States.”
Westbrook got fastened in throughout the third quarter, rating eighteen points on 7-for-10 shooting with 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and only 1 turnover. The Lakers outscored the Knicks by ten within the amount.
He contend well within the fourth, too, rating seven points on 2-for-3 shooting with 3 rebounds and 2 assists, however it absolutely was a unique story for the remainder of the team. The Lakers shot 5-for-19 from the sphere (2-for-11 from 3) and could not complete the comeback, with the Knicks border them 23-19 within the fourth to carry on for the win.
Avery Bradley (15 points, 9 rebounds, a pair of steals) aforesaid the late-game flameout came due to all the energy the team had to expend excavation out of its early hole.
“We were fighting and scrapping to urge back to the sport,” Bradley aforesaid. “I desire if we have a tendency to do a stronger job corporal punishment our game set up at the start, we cannot be in this position and we’ll be able to execute down the stretch.”
Westbrook finished with thirty one points, thirteen rebounds and ten assists for his fourth triple-double of the season, however he conjointly had six turnovers. He came into the sport averaging four.9 turnovers, that was second worst within the league, trailing solely the Brooklyn Nets’ James Harden (5.0).
Westbrook took exception to a line of questioning concerning his turnovers when the sport.
“It’s funny you mention turnovers,” he said. “I haven’t detected you question me that question in concerning 5 games. you recognize why?”
Indeed within the four games before Tues night’s loss, Westbrook had twelve total turnovers. within the four games before that, he had a complete of twenty seven turnovers.
“It’s funny,” Westbrook aforesaid when feigning laughter. “You guys square measure funny, man. It’s simply creating straightforward reads. I had 5 [turnovers] within the half, I had one within the second. therefore i do know I created Associate in Nursing adjustment and did a decent job of selecting my spots and being aggressive and looking out to attain rather than jumping within the air and creating passes.
“So, like I aforesaid, it’s a straightforward fix on behalf of me. and that i apprehend once i am creating those mistakes and creating those turnovers. I mean, the one I stepped out of bounds and that i got one before the 0.5. therefore 3 of them square measure quite like, if you are really observation the sport, you quite would be like, ‘Well, OK, that is totally different.’ 3 of them I quite threw away. So, i am going to take those 3. however apart from that, i will be fine.”
Davis believes that a part of Westbrook’s early woes came from Westbrook trying to pressure-feed lubricating system teammates.
“Russ needs to still do what he is doing notwithstanding who’s on the ground. To be himself,” Davis aforesaid. “I tell him before each game: ‘Be no one however yourself. that is why we have a tendency to brought you here.’ i feel plenty of times, he tries to travel passive and to begin passing the basketball, trying to find alternative guys, that is nice, however quite takes him out of a rhythm. And he will do a similar for guys whereas being aggressive.”
Westbrook offered the same assessment.
“I thought I did not be super aggressive within the half and tried to search out my reads,” he said. “And within the third, we wanted to own a push obnoxiously and tried to form ways that to be aggressive.”
The loss born L.A. to 9-10. Westbrook can have additional changes to form once the Lakers end their five-game road trip in capital of Indiana and LeBron James returns from his one-game suspension.
Westbrook and James have contend solely eight games along this season, with L.A. going 5-3, as well as Sunday’s comeback in Detroit that was sparked by Westbrook when James was ejected.
“We’re finding ways that wherever he is very snug and attempting to attenuate ways that wherever he is been obtaining himself in bother,” aforesaid Lakers coach Frank Vogel. “And i feel that is all a part of the combination method, that there is getting to be some growing pains early. however we’re calculation it out and he is conveyance nice competitive spirit within the absence of ‘Bron once we’re shorthanded and very willed United States to the conclusion in Detroit and virtually did a similar tonight. we have a tendency to simply fell short.”
