Russell Westbrook did not have his usual statline of triple-double in the win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The 33-year-old point guard had 20 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists in 33 minutes of play. He also made 9 turnovers.
After the game, LeBron James was asked how Westbrook impacts the game when he is not having his best performance.
“Jus his presence obviously, his presence on the floor helps us,” James said. “Obviously he was kicking himself a lot tonight with his turnovers especially in the first half. Cleaned up in the second half, he only had two in the second half and it resulted in us being able to get shots.
“When we get shots, we’re a really good team which has really hurt us this year is when we turned the ball a lot and we’re not able to set our defense but we’re really good in the half court when teams run out on us.
“I was being able to take care of the ball in the second half was key to us getting this win tonight. I mean the ball’s in his hands a lot, the ball’s in my hands a lot. It starts with us two just taking care of the ball, in the second half we did that.”
