Lakers coach fights tears over star's sacrifice

2 years ago 92

Lakers manager Darvin Ham has fought tears erstwhile discussing Russell Westbrook's determination to the seat aft the team's archetypal triumph of the season.

LeBron James scored 26 points and Anthony Davis added 23 to assistance the Lakers to their archetypal triumph of the play with a 121-110 triumph implicit the Denver Nuggets.

Westbrook had 18 points for the Lakers (1-5), who had mislaid their archetypal 5 games of the play nether their first-year caput coach. Los Angeles was the past winless squad successful the NBA.

Ham celebrated successful the locker country with his squad and received a celebratory dousing of water.

“We needed to beryllium thing to ourselves,” Ham said. “Not to the world, not the media. We had to beryllium it to ourselves. I consciousness large astir however we responded passim the game.”

Westbrook, who came disconnected the seat again and has been accepting of that role, drove the lane and scored connected a layup to widen the Lakers pb to 117-106 successful the last minutes arsenic the Lakers closed retired the win.

The seat determination comes aft the 2017 MVP, who is connected astir $74 cardinal this season, resisted the relation for a agelong time.

"I told him he's going to thrive, conscionable spot me," an affectional Ham said of Westbrook's determination to the bench.

"I'm truthful happy, man. I can't adjacent ideate what that kid has been going through. One of the biggest things for maine getting this occupation was for him to get that respect that deserved, due to the fact that a batch of what went connected past twelvemonth was not his responsibility and each the blasted was placed connected him.

"I told him, 'Just perceive to me, judge successful me, I'm going to enactment you successful a presumption to win with the group, but you person to enactment the radical first. It can't beryllium astir me, oregon I oregon mine. It's got to beryllium us, ours, we', and he's done that."

In the 3rd quarter, helium raised his arms to get fans connected their feet and helium obliged.

“Like I’ve mentioned since time one, immoderate is needed from maine to assistance the squad win, that’s what I’ll do,” Westbrook said.

Nikola Jokic scored 23 points and Jamal Murray added a season-high 21 for the Nuggets (4-3), who had 4 of their past 5 and 2 consecutive games earlier Monday's loss.

Austin Reaves made a three-pointer from the apical of the arc and Lonnie Walker IV drove the baseline for a dunk to springiness the Lakers a 113-100 advantage. That 13-point pb was their largest of the season.

The Lakers made 13 three-pointers connected 13-for-30 shooting aft struggling with long-range shots this play successful their erstwhile 5 games. The Nuggets made 15 three-pointers.

Davis was assertive aboriginal aft missing 1 crippled with little backmost tightness and was questionable Sunday but played. He tweaked his backmost successful the crippled against Denver connected Wednesday erstwhile the Nuggets bushed the Lakers 110-99 successful Denver.

Davis, who called Sunday’s crippled a must-win, said he’ll person to negociate the pain.

“It’s time by day,” Davis said. “One day, I consciousness great. The adjacent time (it’s hard). Just effort to negociate it and support getting treatment.”

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The Lakers led 55-51 astatine halftime. They trailed by arsenic galore arsenic 10 points successful the archetypal 4th but overcame that shortage by halftime.

“They were playing with desperation and I felt similar we had them and fto it gaffe away,” Nuggets guardant Aaron Gordon said.

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