Getty Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook
Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook has no issue throwing shade at anyone and everyone he comes across on the basketball court. That was proven to be true once again as Westbrook pulled off a took a personal approach to trolling Los Angeles Lakers guard Lance Stephenson during Wednesday night’s game.
Just before halftime, Westbrook opted to bust out Stephenson’s infamous air guitar celebration after teammate Paul George knocked down the and-1 jumper over him, as The Render showed.
As seen above, Stephenson obviously didn’t seem to enjoy that very much, as he glared over at Westbrook while the Thunder guard was celebrating the play. In case you missed the impressive finish by George, here’s a look at how it played out.
Heading into halftime, the Thunder held a 59-57 lead and as we’ve become accustomed to seeing from Westbrook, he had almost posted a triple-double through two quarters. At that point, the All-Star guard had totaled eight points, nine assists and nine rebounds, but was struggling from the field, shooting 2-12 overall.
LeBron James-Less Lakers Hang With Thunder
Although it was only two quarters, the Thunder (23-13) had their hands full with the Lakers and their young core. Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram have been the key trio leading the charge for the Lakers (21-16) with teammate LeBron James sidelined due to a groin injury. In this game, though, it was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who was leading the team in scoring early in the third quarter with 18 points.
The Lakers have also received a nice boost from center JaVale McGee since returning from an illness. At the start of the second half against the Thunder, McGee had totaled 15 points on 7-14 shooting with seven rebounds and four blocks.
Latest on LeBron James Injury
Speaking of James and his injury, there’s been no major update in terms of a potential timeline for return. As things currently stand, it seems LeBron is simply taking the rehab day-by-day and making sure he’s 100 percent or very close to it before getting back on the floor. This also goes hand-in-hand with recent comments from Lakers coach Luke Walton, who didn’t provide much reason for optimism on his outlook.
Just prior to Wednesday’s game, Harrison Faigen of SB Nation reported that Walton stated he has “no idea” when LeBron will return to the court.
So for the time being, it seems the Lakers young core will continue leading the charge and holding down the fort.
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