There has always been an obvious on-court rivalry between guards Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook, but the Portland star took to Instagram to make it clear that it doesn’t extend beyond basketball.
In the post, Lillard showed a photo of himself hugging the NBA’s 2017 MVP after Wednesday night’s game between the Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets. The post includes this caption:
They confuse competing with hate, when it’s ruthless versus ruthless.
Lillard added the hashtag “respect” after that sentence, along with “1st triple double” to celebrate his line of 36 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds in a victory by the Trail Blazers (21-27). As the hashtag would suggest, it was the first triple-double of Lillard’s storied career.
Westbrook matched Lillard’s intensity on the court, posting an impressive line of 39 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. But whereas the Blazers had two other players (CJ McCollum, Trevor Ariza) eclipse the 20-point mark, the Rockets had none outside of Westbrook, leading to a 125-112 defeat (box score) in the finale of a four-game road trip.
Westbrook and the Rockets return to action Friday with a home game against the Dallas Mavericks, with tip-off scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Central from Toyota Center. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
Both the Rockets and Mavs enter Friday’s game with identical 29-18 records, tied for No. 5 in the Western Conference playoff race.
