Two of LeBron James’ old teammates were going at it after Sunday’s game.
Playing in front of their home crowd, the LA Clippers rallied from 26 points down in the second half to stun the Cleveland Cavaliers by the final score of 120-118. Though both teams were missing stars (the Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard and the Cavs were without Donovan Mitchell), it was Paul George who shined the brightest during the game. He finished with a gaudy line of 39 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists, also splashing the game-winner after an ankle-breaker on Evan Mobley with 7.1 seconds left.
game. pic.twitter.com/GPU9gprqRg
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) April 7, 2024
After the final buzzer sounded, Clippers guard Russell Westbrook was seen taunting Cavs big man Tristan Thompson, who didn’t play at all in the game. Westbrook seemed to be clowning Thompson for his cheerleader-like antics from the bench during the contest. The ex-MVP Westbrook dramatically waved his arms back and forth, leading to Thompson approaching him.
Here is the video (from Clippers writer Joey Linn of SI).
Clippers complete the 26-point comeback to defeat Cleveland.
Russell Westbrook with words for the Cavs bench. pic.twitter.com/wLtoheGqMq
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) April 7, 2024
Westbrook earned the right to talk on Sunday. He was another key figure in the Clippers’ comeback, finishing with eight points, seven rebounds, and six assists off the bench. Westbrook was also a magnificent plus-18 in a game that the Clippers only won by two.
The same could not be said of Thompson though. The former No. 4 overall pick is a full-on benchwarmer at this point, seeing 7.6 minutes per game in mostly garbage time over the last month. In fact, the most notable part of Thompson’s season thus far with the Cavs might be his recent suspension for PEDs.
