Russell Westbrook was close to triple-double as he scored 20 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished 12 assists in the Lakers’ loss against the Hawks.
It was his third game in a row in which he scored 20 or more points. In the game against the Hornets the former NBA MVP had season-high 35 points. According to his teammate Anthony Davis, when Russ is attacking like that, it changes the way the Lakers look.
“He was very at attacking the basket and making the right reads, he was very good at the rim finishing,” Davis said about Westbrook. “And he was just like in kill mode. And that’s how he has to be at all times, making the right reads, finishing.
“Sometimes.. he’s got lot of emotions and so when he get into going downhill or someone makes him mad, or he doesn’t get a foul call, we try to help him like ‘Alright, it’s okay, take a deep breath, don’t let that carry over into the next play.’ And we all do it because we want to be the guy to help the team win.
“He’s been with one… James [Harden] wasn’t really James in OKC so he hasn’t really had where he had two guys where he can depend upon. That’s the thing, like me, him and Bron can always have a bad night and the other two can pick the third person up
“When he’s playing the way he played in Charlotte, shooting the ball, getting downhill, making the right reads, passing, making his free-throws, he adds more pressure on the defense and created more opportunities for everyone else.”
This season Westbrook is averaging 18.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game for Los Angeles.
