Russell Westbrook might be one of the most frustrating players ever for his opponents. Just look at his brilliance, mixed in with equally strategic plays. The Game 7 tonight? Yeah, just one of his many exhibits. The fuel? Going up against the same team that traded him because of his not-so-good 2024 playoff appearance. The result? He showed why he’s become a key figure in the Nuggets’ locker room, as a teammate revealed how Russ helped him against the Clippers. And it all culminated in James Harden being frustrated enough to break a major NBA rule. So what happened?

Well, Christian Braun revealed how Russell Westbrook helped him guard James Harden tonight. “I know how I wanted to guard him. But I think maybe the biggest part was Russ. You know, he’s played with James. So, kinda knows his game, and he was telling me what looks to give him, when to give him this look, when to do this, when to force him right, when he’s going right. This is what he’s doing. And I learned that over the course of this series. I think I got better and better as we went,” Braun said in the postgame presser.

The Nuggets guard did an incredible job of keeping James quiet tonight, limiting him to only 7 points and 2-8 shots from the field. Seems like Westbrook’s advice paid off because it so happened that everywhere Harden tried to go, there was Braun in his way. This would then explain the sporadic shooting series of 43.6% from the shooting guard. But it is not just the defensive end that the 24-year-old shone on. He was stellar on the offensive as he scored 21 points, including three 3-pointers.

Amid all the praise that poured in for Braun’s performance, of course, Westbrook chimed in as well. He said, “James is a tough cover. Christian did a good job trying to make the game difficult on him. I thought he did an excellent job, and he has been doing that all year.”

And once the Nuggets pulled off such an upset, the entire Clippers team shared the disappointment of missing out on the Western Conference Semifinals. But it sure felt heavier for the American who just hit his fourth Game 7 playoff loss in his career with a different team. The history has recorded his previous Game 7 losses against the Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, and now, the Denver Nuggets.

What then followed was Harden’s decision to leave the Ball Arena without speaking to the media. And this is not even the first time that it has happened. If reports are to be believed, then he has skipped postgame pressers after each of the Clippers’ last three losses in the series. Now, let’s be real. We all know how the league takes these things very seriously.

After all, Dillon Brooks was fined $25,000 back in 2023 after he “failed to participate in team postgame media availability during the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.” Hence, we can only assume that Harden will face similar penalties. But so far, the league has not imposed any penalties on Harden yet.

Moving on, Westbrook’s contributions were crucial in helping the Nuggets pull off a convincing victory against the Clippers in Game 7. And considering his showings in Game 6, we’d say it was long overdue.

Russell Westbrook finds redemption in Game 7 after a poor showing in the previous game

Early on in the fourth quarter of Game 6, Russell Westbrook bricked a wide-open dunk. And with it, he missed the chance to cut the Clippers’ lead down to single digits. A few minutes after that, Brodie completely fumbled a layup with the ball gently caressing the rim before falling out. With these misses, he cost the Nuggets an opportunity to wrap up the series in six games. Well, he wasn’t going to let the same thing happen tonight.

Brodie seemed switched on in this decisive game. He contributed 16 points to Denver’s tally in 27 minutes while shooting at an impressive 55.6% from the field. But there’s more! Westbrook added 5 rebounds and 5 dimes to help out the Nuggets’ offense when he wasn’t in a scoring position. However, nothing impressed us more tonight than Brodie’s hustle on defense.

He put in a shift in Game 7 to contain the Clippers’ deadly attackers. Put simply, Brodie was a force of nature all by himself. He managed to grab 5 crucial steals in his 27 minutes played that helped disrupt any momentum the Clippers managed to gather. Moreover, his frenetic energy on defense clearly rubbed off on his team as they forced the Clippers to take some truly terrible shots, especially from beyond the arc.

Braun even acknowledged Russ’ energy and how important he was for the team tonight, “Obviously, his knowledge is off the charts, and you see his defensive impact himself. You know, today, he was flying around. I think he had five steals, and he was he was great defensive(ly). So not only I think did he helped me, but he was great himself on defense. And that’s, you know, just kinda who he is, the energy he brings.”

Despite a poor showing in Game 6, we can confidently say that Russ is well on his way to shedding the cruel “Westbrick” tag. But the Nuggets face the Oklahoma City Thunder next. And if they’ve shown anything in the Playoffs this season, it’s that even the slightest hiccup in a game against them can spell doom for their opposition. So here’s hoping the Brodie of Game 7 shows up in that series, instead of the one from Game 6!