Russell Westbrook and the Los Angeles Clippers dropped their fifth game in a row on Friday night to De'Aaron Fox and the Sacramento Kings. After the win, Fox took time to praise Westbrook.

Westbrook finished the Clippers' loss with 27 points, two rebounds, 10 assists, and 2 blocks on 12-of-16 shooting from the field. Fox poured in 33 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists on 12-of-22 shooting, including 12 points in the final frame to help the Kings win.

During the fourth quarter that saw the Clippers come back from 13 points with 6:30 remaining, Russell Westbrook and De'Aaron Fox had a friendly exchange during a free throw break in the fourth quarter.

After the game, Fox was asked about what it was like to play against Westbrook, someone he said was his favorite player in the NBA growing up.

“He's a competitor,” De'Aaron Fox said. “Obviously, he's probably the most scrutinized player in our game. For him, obviously you've heard about the guys that have played with him, either in OKC, Washington, the Lakers, everybody loves playing with him, everybody loves being around him. I love playing against him. I feel like he brings out the best in me. When you're out there, you kinda know he's gonna play hard, he's gonna create for his teammates, he's gonna get to the basket.”

Westbrook's 27 points were his most thus far as a member of the Clippers, while his 75 percent shooting from the field in Friday's game was a season-high as well.

“He made shots tonight, which is, I would say, good to see. Not from our standpoint, but as a basketball fan, as someone who watched him growing up, you love to see him playing well, love to see him confident. I'm glad he played well, but I'm glad we got the win. But you'll never hear a bad thing about Russell Westbrook from anybody in this league that's played against him or played with him. Obviously, they'll be mad whenever he's playing well, but that's just competition.”

Fox's club got the last laugh, winning their third matchup against the Clippers and the season series, 2-1.

During All-Star media availabilities, former Sacramento Kings guard and De'Aaron Fox teammate Buddy Hield said Westbrook was someone that he wanted to see win an NBA Championship outside of himself.

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“Russell Westbrook, he's a good dude, man,” said Buddy Hield prior to All-Star Saturday night. “I think a lot of people give him a lot of crap for how he plays on the court. He’s a Hall-of-Famer. People don't give him the credit that he deserves. He means so much to this game, man. He's a great dude and you can hear the way his teammates talk about him. The way the media portrays him isn’t accurate.”

The Sacramento Kings have a quick turn-around, as they'll play again at Golden 1 Center on Saturday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Both the Kings and Timberwolves are playing the second night of a back-to-back set.

Meanwhile, the Clippers will take their five-game losing streak and face the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night. Memphis has won four in a row against the Clippers, with their last loss coming in April 2021.