As the Oklahoma City Thunder took on the Portland Trail Blazers Sunday afternoon on the road, point guard Russell Westbrook did not receive a warm welcome at the Moda Center.
For his part, Westbrook finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the 104-99 Game 1 loss. But, he was booed every time he touched the ball throughout the game.
Asked about it Monday at practice, Westbrook said he liked it.
I don’t pay much mind to it, honestly. … I don’t pay much mind to it. It doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t change the way that I play. They boo you, you must be doing something great. I must be pretty good at my job. They don’t boo nobody that’s not good at their job. So, I’m okay with that.
The Thunder and the Trail Blazers are division rivals and have certainly had their fair share of heated battles recently so that could explain the ovation that he received.
He infamously yelled at point guard Damian Lillard earlier this season that he has been busting him up for years which likely hasn’t sat well with the home crowd.
Westbrook was matched up mostly with Lillard on Sunday and held him to just seven points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field as his primary defender, according to NBA tracking data.
With Westbrook acknowledging that he enjoys that sort of reaction in Portland, it should only make it worse for Game 2 on Tuesday night. But, he wouldn’t want it any other way.
