The Los Angeles Clippers came up with arguably their biggest win of the season by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. Ivica Zubac and Russell Westbrook played big roles as Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell led the way past LeBron James and Anthony Davis' club.
The Clippers defeated the Lakers 125-118 in what was a double-digit lead for most of the night. Norman Powell finished with a team-high 27 points off the Clippers' bench, while Kawhi Leonard scored 25. Ivica Zubac chipped in 17 points and 13 rebounds, marking his 26th double-double of the season, while Russell Westbrook added 14 points and four assists.
Westbrook didn't play in the entire fourth quarter and played just 21 minutes total on the night. The Clippers didn't need him to play much more, as Powell, Bones Hyland, and Terance Mann all had it going off the bench. Hyland came alive in the fourth quarter to help secure the win.
Despite what some will tell you, there was significance to the game. Aside from both teams being tied at 41-38 with a golden opportunity to escape the play-in tournament, the game was also Russell Westbrook's first time playing against his former team since they traded him away at the deadline.
Westbrook took a few days off after the trade and ultimately decided to join the Clippers in a move that no one was sure how it would pan out.
“Honestly, I didn't know,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said of how he initially thought Westbrook would fit when he first joined. “I just know I love his approach and how he plays every night. The passion which he plays with every night as far as just playing hard defensively, attacking the basket, and pushing the ball in transition allows to get easy baskets. And so that's one thing that I was looking forward to. I didn't know he would be this good, this quick. I mean, he's only played, I don't know, 12, 14, 15 games or whatever, but he's been good for us all around the board and from practice to games to helping with our young guys, mentoring T-Mann and Bones and those guys. So he has been terrific.”
There was a lot of negativity surrounding his exit from the Lakers, most of which was due to the bad fit. One reporter who covered the team claimed Russell Westbrook's departure from the Lakers was like removing a vampire from a locker room.
That quote was heard around the league, and even made its way back to the Clippers' locker room.
After Wednesday night's game, Ivica Zubac came to Russell Westbrook's defense, saying the Clippers really wanted to get the win for him.
“It's not about individual stuff, but we knew what was said about him and everything,” Ivica Zubac said. “And when he came over here, it's the complete opposite of who he is. He's a great dude, a great leader, always happy, always positive. You know, helping everyone on the court helped me a lot. He leads us on and off the court. He's a great dude. So we just wanted to prove everyone wrong. Prove all those rumors, all that stuff that was said about him wrong. It just makes it better that it came in the biggest game of the season.”
Ivica Zubac stood up for Russell Westbrook postgame:
“We knew what was said about him and when he came over here, it’s the complete opposite of who he is. He’s a great dude. Great leader. Always happy… We just wanted to prove everyone wrong.”pic.twitter.com/9yyNQA8syC
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 6, 2023
The key now will be to see how Westbrook's game translates into the postseason and into a specific matchup. The regular season is completely different from the playoffs, so it will be interesting to see how he and Tyronn Lue find the best possible wars for him to contribute.
Russell Westbrook has played 19 games with the Clippers so far, averaging 15.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game on 48.5 percent shooting from the field and 33.3.percent from 3-point range.
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