On Saturday night, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to win a close game against the New York Knicks, 122-115, in overtime.

The Lakers didn't play well in this game, but every time you can beat one of your rivals, it gives a struggling club a boost of confidence, which they'll need as the season progresses.

For the Lakers, LeBron James and Anthony Davis did their regular thing, with LeBron finishing with 29 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists, and Anthony Davis scoring 28 points with 17 rebounds. Unfortunately for the Lakers, their third star, Russell Westbrook, who they acquired this past summer, had one of his worst games in a Lakers uniform, scoring only five points.

In overtime, head coach Frank Vogel opted to bench Westbrook, and in retrospect, it was a wise decision since they were able to win.

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According to NBA on ESPN, Russell Westbrook of the Lakers had this to say about getting benched in overtime:

“When I play bad, you guys ask me a s*** ton of questions. And then when I shoot the ball well, I don't hear too many of those questions… We won the game and that's the most important part.”

All Westbrook is asking is for the media to maintain the same level of questioning when he performs well. There are many nights when he does not perform as well as everyone expects him to, but there are other games when he does perform well and assists the Lakers, and the media does not seem to recognize him for it.