Holder in the absence of Aaron Gordon, Russell Westbrook did not go far from the triple-double against the Pistons with 8 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists in 28 minutes. All at 4 out of 6 on shots, and the former MVP played his role as an energizer wonderfully alongside Nikola Jokic (37 points) and Jamal Murray (34 points).
Notably with a slap dunk on a miss from Chris Braun, then warming up with the Pistons bench in the 3rd quarter after a clash with Cade Cunningham, then Isaiah Stewart. What’s next? Pure Westbrook, haranguing the crowd and barking at opponents. He causes two technical fouls, although at the start, the referees had called him an offensive foul…
“The Pistons started to heat us, and we responded. That's all » says Jamal Murray about this heated end to the 3rd quarter. “If you watch the game, you'll see who I'm talking about… Like I said, they got us hot, Russ got in there, and we didn't see them again…”
Meet the best “backcourt” in the NBA
More precisely, after this stormy passage, the Nuggets will sign a 20-6 to take up to 25 points in advance. For Mike Malone, the presence of Russell Westbrook has become obvious since Gordon's relapse.
“It’s not set in stone that Westbrook will start every game in Gordon’s absence”, explained the Nuggets coach before the meeting. “Russell has been excellent for us as a starter. What he does on the field, defensively, offensively, playing, being tough, fighting, having energy, I find it a very positive addition. When Russell starts, we play very well. And then it also depends on the team we were playing against. Against Cleveland, there was Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, one of the best backcourts in the NBA. Tonight it’s Cade Cunningham and (Jaden) Ivey, another very powerful backcourt that’s going to give us a hard time.”
Not enough to prevent the Nuggets from signing a 6th victory in 6 matches during a “back-to-back”!
