Westbrook denies hunting assists: 'I was 6 for 25 ... what you want me to do?'
Is it such a crime to deliberately pass the rock in an NBA game when your shot isn't dropping and your team is down huge on the scoreboard?
Apparently so.
Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Russell Westbrook missed 19 of his 25 shot attempts in a 120-99 road loss Friday night to the lowly Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Late in the fourth quarter, it was becoming evident that the 28-year-old was looking to add more dimes to his line to notch his 42nd triple-double of the regular season, thus setting a new league record.
When asked after the game if that was indeed what he was attempting to do, Westbrook questioned why passing up shots that he wasn't connecting on anyway is such a terrible thing.
Westbrook on if he was trying to pad assists late: "I was 6 for 25. What the f*** you want me to do?" (NSFW, of course) pic.twitter.com/9M6sLMxQy8
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) April 8, 2017
"I mean, I was 6 for 25. Fuck, what you want me to do?" asked Westbrook. "I wasn’t making the shots, so somebody else can help. My job is to see what’s going on, and try to find guys that can make some shots and maybe we can get something going.
Related: Westbrook secures triple-double average to match Robertson's 55-year-old feat
"If I wanted to get 10 assists, I can get 10 assists."
Westbrook ended up with 23 points and 12 rebounds in 36 minutes of action, but fell just short of a record-setting triple-double with eight assists - the first time since March 20 that he's been held below 10 assists in a game.