The criticism has followed Russell Westbrook to his new home across the hall at the Crypto.com Arena. Now with the Clippers, Westbrook has been blamed for the team’s recent losing streak, and although they have gone back to the winning column since then, fans aren’t convinced. However, Westbrook’s monster dunk against the Toronto Raptors might help him win over the fans -in addition to the victory over the Canadian franchise 108-100-, and enjoy a few days of praise considering that the Clippers won’t play again until Saturday against the Knicks.
The 2017 MVP might have lost his shooting accuracy but he continues to be in incredible shape at 34 years old, and he showed us his power with this spectacular dunk which is rarely possible for players of his size. As Precious Achiuwa was on the fast break, ‘Russ’ managed to catch up to him despite the 4 feet that separated both players and took the leap to block the shot before it reached the basket.
Sadly for him, Chris Boucher was aware of the play and grabbed the rebound for the dunk. But in the end, what matters is that his team got a key victory for its playoff aspirations in a Western Conference that has been incredibly competitive this year. Westbrook ended the night with +12, including 7 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, and that block.
As usual, Kawhi Leonard (24 points) and Paul George (23 points) led the L.A. franchise, while Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes did the same for Toronto with 20 points each. The Clippers are sixth in the West with a record of 35-33, while the Raptors are ninth in the East with a record of 32-35, near the Hawks in 8th place, but they’re still far from the last spot for a direct pass to the playoffs