UNDRAMATIC
No MVP, no problem for Westbrook in 41-point effort
NEW ORLEANS — Russell Westbrook stood motionless above the 3-point line, chest heaving, heart racing toward another All-Star Most Valuable Player Award.
Forget that his friend Anthony Davis was the hometown hero at Sunday’s 66th All-Star Game. Forget that Kevin Durant was the one who walked out of New Orleans with a triple-double.
Westbrook was on fire, so hot he broke his statue-still pose by fanning the sides of his face.
The crowd laughed and burst into applause. Westbrook said Friday he was in a great place, having a great time. It looked that way in a 41-point performance in the West’s 192-182 win Sunday night at Smoothie King Center.
After a Friday in which Westbrook and Durant diverted talk about each other and a Saturday practice in which they didn’t even shoot in the same groups, Sunday culminated with a sliver of headway toward peace.
A prevailing thought entering All-Star Weekend was that it was Westbrook vs. The World on his own team. He was surrounded by the Warriors foursome of Durant, Draymond Green, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. In pregame, Westbrook shot
one halfcourt heave with All-Star MVP Anthony Davis at his side, nailed it, and went to the other side of the court to shoot by himself. Durant came onto the court about 30 seconds later. Awkwardness avoided.
But Westbrook wasn’t by himself at all. James Harden joined Westbrook on the other end. When the game began and Westbrook came in with 6:08 left in the first quarter, a breathtaking give-and-go between he and Durant ensued. The basketball world was reminded of the brilliance between them, not the beef.
Westbrook was less enthusiastic about the play after the game than he was during it, when he winked and pointed at Durant, then was showered by cheers from teammates when he came to the sideline.
“Yeah, he threw a lob,” Westbrook said in postgame. “That’s all that happened. Just threw a lob. It’s basketball. That’s it.”
In the midst of the cheers, ice and water rained down on Durant and Westbrook. Western Conference All-Star coach Steve Kerr slipped a subtle metaphor about the scene in postgame.
“I guess that’s kind of the beauty of the game,” Kerr said. “You just let the game break the ice.
“The guys were just making fun of it, and it was a nice moment.”
Even if Westbrook couldn’t capture his third consecutive All-Star MVP — he was subbed out by Kerr with 5:34 to go — he said he wasn’t shooting for the crown despite launching 13 3-pointers, making seven.
Davis finished with an All-Star Game-record 52 points in a weekend in which he and Westbrook shared multiple moments together from charity events, to the Rising Stars Challenge to posing together like brothers in the pregame photo shoot. Davis even said it was Westbrook who told him what the scoring record was — 42 by Wilt Chamberlain in 1962 — as they traded baskets in the fourth quarter in the race to history.
Durant made history himself, logging the fourth triple-double in All-Star Game history (21 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists).
The stats and the lob weren’t the only Westbrook and Durant connections. Before tip-off, for a moment, they were again on the same page. They were both just trying to get a peek at the band.
As The Roots’ drummer Questlove? layed down a smooth drum beat, Westbrook and Durant stood backstage transfixed.
In the darkened area, Durant looked curiously through an opening which led up to the elevated stage. Westbrook was about 10 feet behind him leaning on a pillar, peering through the other opening before snapping back into mode, swiveling around and jumping in place.
Feet apart, yet still a gulf between them, but maybe the gap was bridged a little Sunday.
Moments later, Westbrook stood next to the band and bobbed his head to the beat, a prelude to the fun that overshadowed “The Feud.”
“Having fun, brother,” Westbrook said. “That’s the best part. Just going out to compete and have fun.”