The teasing of Russell Westbrook reached a ceiling in Minnesota and the response that the point guard had prepared was expected, but the result neither leaves petty and understandable indifferent nor could it be written in the player’s mental script. The Lakers took an important victory from Toronto in this tour of several pavilions and they did it in the most Westbrook way that Westbrook is knowing this year, a kind of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that scares even the most forward and in which the side that appears most often is the bad one. The base was in charge of executing the play with which to force the extension in the ScotiaBank Arena, it went very badly and it was not that but a later and unexpected one that did give him and his team that option, which finished off in a good overtime to win 123-128. All that resonated in his head before this game was a hodgepodge that came out like that on the court, in a triple-double (22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists) that almost didn’t help at all, but this time luck was allied with his work and the Lakers obtain a precious loot that makes them secure their ninth position in the Western Conference without the Blazers, Kings or, above all, Spurs threatening it.
Consequences of this madness? That you have a face like that of the rapper Drakea Raptors activist as well as a fan, in the image that illustrates this chronicle. What Russell Westbrook does, at this point, is almost always going to go through the filter of surprise.
The best of the night for the Angelenos was LeBron James, who finished with 35 points and an impressive 15/26 shooting. The starter Wenyen Gabriel only missed one of his own to finish with 17 and Avery Bradley, who scored 14, was the author of the most important launch: the triple, to a pass from a Westbrook who perfectly read the advantages of that attack, which sentenced the victory with half a minute to go in extra time. For the Raptors, the pity was that their most successful man, rookie Scottie Barnes (31 points, 17 rebounds and 6 assists), was also the one that Westbrook appeared to miss the decisive balls and nullify the effect it was having on the whole of Los Angeles. Those of Vogel add up to the thirtieth of seventy possible, a low income given the track record and possibilities they possess but perfectly manageable in the uncontrolled situation they still navigate.