Friday night's bout between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Charlotte Hornets produced quite a spectacle. Russell Westbrook was the star of the show for an extremely shorthanded Lakers side who were missing both LeBron James and Anthony Davis, among others, due to respective injuries. On the opposing side, it was Miles Bridges who stepped up big time for the Hornets and his toe-to-toe battle with Russ got a little bit heated at certain points in the game.

Late in the fourth period, Bridges was whistled for a technical foul for taunting Westbrook with the “too small” gesture. This was right after Bridges scored an and-1 play over the Lakers star. After the game, however, Bridges played down the incident. He also had nothing but praise for Westbrook as he called out what he believes to be unwarranted hate towards the nine-time All-Star:

“Russell Westbrook,” Bridges responded when asked what he thought made Friday's contest so difficult to close out. “I mean he gets all the hate in the world but you gotta praise the man. He was the MVP in this league, making the Finals. He's a great player, man. All the hate he get, I don't get it. Russell Westbrook he did a great job.”

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Westbrook's season-high 35-point effort was matched by Bridges, who himself finished with a team-high 26 points. In the end, the Hornets were able to outduel the Lakers, 117-114, as Charlotte logged back-to-back wins. LA, on the other hand, has now lost two straight and their seventh in the last ten games.