The Los Angeles Lakers recently faced off against the Indiana Pacers and found themselves with a back-and-forth matchup. During the 4th quarter, the Lakers had a lead that ended up with them being behind by seven points with under four minutes to play. During that time, Russell Westbrook was benched, which caused the player to allegedly have a strong reaction, with teammate Deandre Jordan reportedly having to calm him down. Now, Westbrook has broken his silence on being benched.
While speaking to ESPN, the Lakers star went on to say “Surprised, yes. I was disappointed I didn't go back in, but I'm more disappointed that we lost the damn game.” He continued saying “I want to be able to be on the floor to help my teammates and be able to help our team win in games like that -- but that was a decision that was made.”
Coaching staff noted they had management authorization to bench Russ in the final minutes of the game. Coach Frank Vogel went on to say he gave playing time to “the guy that I thought we’re going to win the game.” Stay tuned for more updates.
source: ESPN
