On January 29, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Lakers lost 114-117 to the Hornets in the absence of James and thick eyebrows. In this campaign, Westbrook single-core led the team, 35 points in 12 of 23 shooting in 37 minutes, including 30 points in the second half, becoming the first Lakers player to score 30 points in the half after Kobe Bryant retired, even if he missed a deadly three-pointer at the last moment, But Westbrook's performance was enough to gain respect.
Even the Hornets players, who were opponents, were impressed by Westbrook's performance. Miles Bridges, who scored 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists, praised Westbrook in an interview after the game.
"The reason it was so hard for us to end the game today was because of Westbrook. He got the MVP, he got to the Finals, he was a really good player, and yet he got a lot of criticism, I don't understand why, in my opinion, he's doing great. Bridges said.
And Lakers head coach Vogel, also praised Westbrook at the post-game press conference, saying that Westbrook's performance in the second half was amazing, but also showed a very strong will, and finally Vogel said bluntly, "I really want to thank him for his leadership tonight." ”
In addition, Lakers star "Magic" Johnson also wrote on social media, "Westbrook played the best performance of the Lakers career, 35 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, and only 1 turnover in the whole game." ”
After the outbreak of this game, Westbrook seems to have reversed the public opinion, but frankly, if he wants to completely change the outside world's views and let the criticism news, he needs to continue to play a stable game in the future games, especially after the return of James and The Thick Brow. Otherwise, the occasional performance of a ball, even if it explodes again, can only win him a short period of "breathing rights".