After badly missing a 3-pointer with seconds remaining that would’ve tied Friday’s contest against the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook made amends by coming up with a steal and hitting a trey that forced overtime.
LeBron James gave the much-maligned star credit and props right after the game during a walk-off interview with Los Angeles-based Spectrum SportsNet.
.@KingJames talks with @LakersReporter about Russ' three that forced OT and showing out in front of his good friend @Drake in Toronto. pic.twitter.com/2tfNudaDrO
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 19, 2022
Westbrook played well on Friday, showing good aggressiveness and getting his teammates involved consistently. He had a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists while shooting 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
James had a big game himself with 36 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. He did so with legendary rapper and Toronto native Drake, a good friend of his, at the game in Canada.
After falling behind by large margins in their last few games, the Lakers actually got off to a good start tonight, forging a 15-5 lead early in the first quarter.
They fought with the Raptors every step of the way, displaying much more effort and fight than they have lately.
Newcomer Wenyen Gabriel, a 6-foot-9 forward, was a big part of L.A.’s win, scoring 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting while hitting all three of his 3-pointers.
The Lakers were shorthanded against Toronto, as Talen Horton-Tucker was nursing a sprained ankle and Carmelo Anthony and Wayne Ellington were out due to non-COVID illnesses.
L.A. will head south tomorrow to face the Washington Wizards, a team that they defeated at Crypto.com Arena just a week ago.
