The Los Angeles Lakers blew a 26-point lead on Wednesday night and superstar guard Russell Westbrook was ejected with seconds left in the game as Los Angeles lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder 123-115 on Wednesday night.
Westbrook, who had double-digit turnovers, took issue with Thunder’s Darius Bazley for scoring on a breakaway dunk with 1.5 seconds remaining rather than just dribbling out the clock to end the game.
“How I play the game, I’m more old-school,” Westbrook said, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “And when s— like that happens, I don’t let it slide. … In the game of basketball, there’s certain things you just don’t do. Like in baseball, you don’t flip the bat. There’s certain things you don’t do in sports when the game’s already over. And I didn’t like it. Simple as that.”
“A disappointing loss, but a lesson learned,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “An NBA season is a long season and a lesson for our group that you can’t ever take your foot off the gas against anyone.”
“This ain’t no adjustment period at all,” Lakers big man Anthony Davis said. “Not this game. That’s just straight on us. … This isn’t an adjustment game where I feel like it’s, ‘Oh, we’re still learning each other.’ … Nah. Not this game.”
“I got to take care of the ball,” Westbrook said of his turnovers. “Too many mishaps allowed. It’s my fault. It’s on me. But I’m going to take care of it. I know that. And keep the game simple. Because we need those possessions, especially in games like this.”
“It’s not fun in the moment when you lose a game like that,” Vogel said. “But I think at the end of the day, if we’re pushed every night like this, it’s going to sharpen us. It will be good for us in the long run, but you’ve got to play through that and find a way to win.”
