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Despite having several good looks in the closing minute of Friday night's game, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder were unable to find the bottom of the net. As a result, Oklahoma City's season is over and the Utah Jazz find themselves in the second round.
As Westbrook made his way off the floor, he became involved in a brief confrontation with a fan who appeared to be using a cell phone to record video footage. Westbrook made a swipe at the phone, shared a few words, then made his way to the locker room with security on-hand. To be fair, it seems as though the fan was trying to get a bit too close.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcoaqBE8puw
Westbrook logged 44 minutes in Friday's 96-91 loss, leading all scorers with 46 points on 18-43 shooting from the field (7-19 shooting from beyond the arc), 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals.
“I didn't confront fans; fans confronted me,” Westbrook told ESPN. “Here in Utah, man, a lot of disrespectful, vulgar things are said to the players here with these fans. It's truly disrespectful. Talk about your families, your kids. It's truly disrespectful to the game, man.”
Westbrook was involved in a separate jawing match just before halftime. The seven-time All-Star went on to say he's “not with that.”
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“I think it's something that needs to be brought up,” Westbrook said. “I'm tired of just going out and playing, then the fans saying whatever the hell they want to say. I'm not with that. If I was on the street, they wouldn't just come up to me and say anything crazy, because I don't play that s—. So, to disrespect me and do whatever they want to do needs to be put to a stop, especially here in Utah.”
Westbrook had a solid first round series, albeit in a losing effort. In fact, he helped the Thunder overcome a 25-point deficit in Game 5 with a 45-point performance.
“Win, lose or draw, I leave everything I have on the floor,” Westbrook said. “Sometimes you come up short. Sometimes you win.”
