Wednesday's ESPN doubleheader brought a matchup between the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers, one that offered Carmelo Anthony's return to the Toyota Center since he was first exiled by the team. For Russell Westbrook, this was an opportunity to go head-to-head against Damian Lillard, who ended his postseason in 2019 with a massive 3-point buzzer-beater over the outstretched arms of former partner Paul George.
Westbrook went off for 31 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists in a 117-107 loss to the Blazers, but he enjoyed every bit of his 22 shot attempts, including this trip to the foul line once he had Lillard in the post.
As he approached the first of his two foul shots, Westbrook barked at Lillard:
“A foul is a bucket. Can't guard me. Impossible.”
While Lillard's response was drowned out in the game audio, he responded with nothing more than laughing out loud after his Blazers took the W on Wednesday, once again getting the better of this rivalry:
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) January 16, 2020
Westbrook has had a habit of picking up rivalries with plenty of point guards in the West — Damian Lillard, Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, and even non-elite guards like Patrick Beverley.
Russ thrives in amping himself up with these one-on-one competitions, but even after 12 years in the league, he has yet to realize these personal feuds do nothing to help his team. Westbrook took 10 more shots than the Rockets' best scorer, James Harden, something the Blazers were glad about.
Lillard was certainly glad to see Westbrook bathe in his own delusion while handing the Rockets their third loss in the last four games.
But once again, when a shot that big crumpled Russell Westbrook's entire franchise, to the point of forcing him to leave the organization, there's really no other argument Damian Lillard needs to make.
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