Westbrook back to LA?
Guard now the property of Jazz
LOS ANGELES — In comments that revealed differences in how some Los Angeles Clippers players value the role of a traditional point guard versus the team’s front office, AllStar wing Paul George and starting forward Marcus Morris Sr. on Friday said the team needed to add a pure point guard and openly campaigned for Russell Westbrook.
The former Lakers guard, who was traded to Utah days earlier, has yet to be bought out by the Jazz, but George said he had been in contact with Westbrook since the trade to check on his former teammate in Oklahoma City.
Asked after Friday’s 119-106 loss to Milwaukee, which dropped the Clippers to 31-28, whether the team needed a traditional point guard, George said yes before, unprompted, he mentioned Westbrook by name.
“If there’s you know, somebody out there — Russell — you know, if it makes sense and obviously it goes with our team, we’re all for it,” George said. “We need a point guard. But you know, in the same, I think we’re good as well if nothing happened, I think we got enough in this locker room to be able to make it work but you know, it would definitely improve our team if we had that traditional point guard, to kind of get us in things and make the game easy.
“So hopefully Russell sees this and, you know, we figure something out.”
The comments came one day after the Clippers traded John Wall and Reggie Jackson, two players coach Tyronn Lue kept in his rotation throughout the season expressly because they fit the role of what Lue often referred to as a “traditional point guard” he trusted to organize the offense in crunch time.
The league’s most valuable player in 2016-17 and all-time leader in triple-doubles, Westbrook endured a rocky season and a half with the Lakers while shooting 43% overall, including 29% on 3-point attempts this season. George, who produced the best statistical season of his career alongside Westbrook in Oklahoma City in 2018-19, acknowledged he was biased toward his former teammate’s abilities, believing Westbrook would fit better with the Clippers because of the team’s shooting.
“We can run with him and that’s kind of our game is spacing the floor,” George said. “I know that’s my game, spacing the floor for being a shooter on the perimeter and then just running with him in transition — I think that’s what we can complement him [with].”
Asked what Leonard, who did not play Friday, thought of Westbrook, George indicated he “likes it.”
Morris, meanwhile, said Westbrook “hasn’t had an opportunity to play on a team where he could be himself and be able to play freely,” and believed the guard had shouldered unfair criticism for his Lakers tenure.
“I want him to come,” Morris said. “I think that you can’t kill a wounded dog. You give him an opportunity to come back, it could be dangerous.”
Saturday’s games LAKERS 109, WARRIORS
103: In San Francisco, D’Angelo Russell had 15 points, six assists and five rebounds in his Lakers return after being acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline, Dennis Schroder scored 26 points, and Los Angeles beat Golden State in a rivalry missing the star power of injured greats LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
Schroder made a key layup with 1:17 to play after Donte DiVincenzo’s 3-pointer cut the Lakers’ lead to 105-101. Anthony Davis had a double-double of 13 points and 16 rebounds.
Jordan Poole had 29 points and six assists with a key go-ahead three-point play with 6:23 remaining, but the Warriors floundered down the stretch of the fourth quarter again.
76ERS 101, NETS 98: In New York, Joel Embiid had 37 points and 13 rebounds, James Harden scored 29 points in his first game in Brooklyn since being traded a year ago to begin a Big Three breakup, and Philadelphia beat Brooklyn.
The 76ers got a victory instead of overtime when Spencer Dinwiddie’s 3-pointer was ruled too late after a video review.
NUGGETS 119, HORNETS
105: In Charlotte, N.C., Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his league-leading 20th triple-double and shorthanded Denver handed the Hornets their seventh straight defeat.
The Nuggets snapped a string of four straight road losses.
P.J. Washington had 22 points and Gordon Hayward added 21 for Charlotte. LaMelo Ball finished with 18 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.
KNICKS 126, JAZZ 120: In New York, Jalen Brunson scored 22 of his 38 points in the first half, Josh Hart had 11 points off the bench in his Knicks debut and New York outlasted Utah.
Julius Randle added 31 for New York, which has won three of four to improve to 31-27. R.J. Barrett scored 20 points before fouling out, and Immanuel Quickley finished with 15.
Hart, acquired Wednesday night from Portland, made a quick impact on his new team while adding seven rebounds and four assists.
Lauri Markkanen scored 29 points to lead the Jazz, who lost for the fourth time in five games.
HAWKS 125, SPURS 106:
In Atlanta, Trae Young had 24 points and a season-high with 17 assists, De’Andre Hunter added 24 points and the Hawks beat reeling San Antonio.
The Spurs (14-43) are losers of a season-high 12 straight.
Atlanta never trailed after Young’s layup early in the third made it 65-64. The Hawks went on a 12-0 run to take a 75-64 lead.
WIZARDS 127, PACERS
113: In Washington, Bradley Beal scored 32 points, Kristaps Porzingis and Monte Morris added 17 apiece and the Wizards shot 70% from the field through the first three quarters.
Washington led 80-57 after its highest-scoring half of the season. The Wizards gave up the first 10 points of the third quarter, bringing back memories of a couple recent games in which they blew 20-point leads, but they steadied themselves quickly and led 104-88 heading into the fourth.
Washington’s final shooting percentage was 64%, easily a season best.
HEAT 107, MAGIC 103 (OT): In Orlando, Fla., Tyler Herro scored 23 points, Jimmy Butler added 22, Gabe Vincent had 20 as Miami rallied to beat the Magic.
Vincent opened the overtime period with a 3-pointer, Herro scored twice from the lane and the Magic never caught up.
CAVALIERS 97, BULLS 89: In Cleveland, All-Star Donovan Mitchell scored 19 of his 29 points in the second half and Jarrett Allen had 23 points and 10 rebounds, rallying Cleveland.
Mitchell added 10 rebounds for Cleveland, which trailed 61-48 in the third quarter before unleashing a 43-17 run. The Cavaliers won their sixth straight and are 24-6 at home.
Zach LaVine scored 23 points, Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 14 rebounds, and All-Star DeMar DeRozan had 16 points and six assists for the Bulls. Chicago was outscored 20-4 to start the fourth and dropped its third in a row.
Mitchell scored a franchise-record 71 points in the teams’ previous meeting Jan. 2 in Cleveland.