Here’s what Russell Westbrook had to say after getting benched again

By Orel Dizon
Updated: February 6, 2022

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers earned an overtime win against the New York Knicks on Saturday.

However, one of the most notable stories of the game wasn’t exactly a positive one for Lakers guard Russell Westbrook. He was benched again to close out the match.

After the contest, Westbrook said that winning is “all that matters.”

“The best part of this game is that you win,” Westbrook said. “Guys competed. We won the game and that’s all that matters.”

It was certainly a bad game for the former MVP, who finished 1-for-10 from the field. There was even an instance in the fourth quarter when the Lakers crowd yelled at him to not shoot a 3-pointer.

Even though he played poorly on Saturday, Westbrook has still been somewhat of an asset for L.A. this season. He is averaging 18.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists per match.

The nine-time All-Star understands that bad outings happen.

“It happens,” he said. “I missed some shots that I normally make. Like I said, I don’t want to keep making it about me. When I play bad, you guys ask me a s— ton of questions. And then when I shoot the ball well, I don’t hear too many of those questions. So I don’t want to keep making it about me and what I’m doing. We won the game and that’s the most important part.”

Fortunately for the Lakers, the squad was reinforced on Saturday by a returning LeBron James, who had missed the previous five games. The Lakers star was instrumental in helping the team recover from a massive deficit against New York. He recorded a triple-double with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.

Anthony Davis also had a strong showing, posting 28 points, 17 rebounds, three steals and four blocks.

L.A. is currently 26-28 on the season, good for the No. 9 spot in the Western Conference. The team will look to earn another win on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks.