The Los Angeles Lakers host the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night in a game with an intensity not often seen early in the regular season.
After trailing by 19 points in the first half, the Lakers fought back in the third quarter and turned the game into a back-and-forth contest.
In the end, the Lakers won 130-125 in overtime, with LeBron James scoring 35 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. Clippers and former Lakers guard Russell Westbrook contributed 24 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals.
Westbrook didn’t leave the Purple and Gold in the best shape in February, and that was evident before the game began, when James acknowledged every Clippers starter except Westbrook.
LeBron screwed all the Clippers except Russ 🧐🤔 pic.twitter.com/Dhm8hNJ44v
— Lakers Every Day (@LADEig) November 2, 2023
To be fair, Westbrook is on the far side of the floor, so there’s always a chance he’ll avoid James and his other former teammates.
While the relationship between Westbrook and the Lakers has become acrimonious at times, more than one of his former teammates has defended him and said he was a great and supportive teammate.
The two teams will next face off on January 7th. At that point, Clippers rookie James Harden will be up to speed, and it will be interesting to see what happens.