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‘Russ Was Hoopin’: Damian Lillard Showers Praise on Russell Westbrook for His Heroics Against Nets

Published 02/01/2021, 8:05 AM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

Russell Westbrook had to contend with certain blunt remarks from the Wizards’ front office since the season began. But he used them as fuel for the fire that he used to wreak havoc on the Brooklyn Nets last night.

The most athletic point guard of all-time had a gigantic night. He exploded for 41 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists on 16-28 shooting from the floor and 4-7 from the three-point line. To go with this, he also had a couple of steals and a vengeful block.

After the game, fellow NBA point guard Damian Lillard acknowledged the greatness of his peer. When asked to give his thoughts on Westbrook for his performance, he said, “Russ was hoopin.” Clearly, game recognizes game.

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Russell Westbrook came up clutch

The Wizards won a closely fought game of 149-146 against the Nets. His fellow back courter Bradley Beal continued his high-scoring trend with 37 points. However, all of their individual efforts would have gone to waste if not for a remarkable sequence at the close of the fourth quarter.

With just 8 seconds to go on the shot clock for the game, the Wizards were trailing by five points. Quite remarkably, both Beal and Westbrook hit dagger threes in a duration of 3.8 seconds to go in the lead of the game. None of this would have been possible if not for Garrison Matthews’s steal on Harris.

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Westbrook owned Kevin Durant with a thunderous block

Fanatics billed this contest as the battle between Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, which has been a treat to watch since Kevin’s bitter departure from OKC. Russ got the better of KD, not just with the win but also through a key defensive contribution.

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After grabbing a rebound, KD was in trying to pull-up from the mid-range. However, Russ came from behind, out of KD’s sight, and rejected him. This must have been a moment of personal pride and satisfaction for him.

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Overall, they still need to work on their defense as they allowed the Nets to bucket 19 of their 36 three-point attempts, even though they stepped up to the fore when it really mattered for them. They will hope that it ignites a winning run.

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Written by:

Bharat Aggarwal

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Bharat Aggarwal is a sports analyst for EssentiallySports, covering Formula 1 and NBA. A Delhi University graduate, Bharat has multi-year experience in sports writing, having closely worked with the content strategy aspect as well. Bharat Aggarwal supports Manchester United, Lewis Hamilton, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Nadal, Dirk Nowitzki, Sachin Tendulkar, Ayrton Senna, Kristaps Porzingis, and Dallas Mavericks.
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