"Go at him": Russell Westbrook urges Clippers teammates to attack Luka Doncic on defense
Russell Westbrook and the LA Clippers got their revenge on Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas walloped Los Angeles in their first meeting this season earlier this month. There was no repeat on Saturday night as the Clippers started hot and kept their foot on the gas. Westbrook and his teammates leveled the season series with a decisive 107-88 victory.
With just a little under four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Westbrook attacked Doncic to force a foul and a bonus free throw. The former MVP was thrilled with the shot and pointed at “Luka Legend” while shouting (via Chris Scorch):
“Go at him! Go at him.”
Luka Doncic was seemingly disturbed by a previous play where he thought there was excessive contact but no foul was called on his defender. He didn’t look like he was ready to play defense when “Brodie” forcefully attacked the rim after a perfect pass from Paul George.
Almost everything went against Doncic on Saturday night. He suffered a hand injury early in the game and had to be taken back to the locker room. Doncic returned just before the second period but kept flexing his right hand as if trying to get rid of the discomfort.
Still, the four-time All-NBA managed to end the night with 30 points, four assists, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks. For the first time in a long while, he didn’t have his way against the LA Clippers.
Russell Westbrook and the Clippers were aggressive from the jump, racing to a 57-45 lead. Things could have been much worse for the Mavericks had a few of LA’s several wide-open shots gone in.
Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks will hope to regroup at home
Six of the Dallas Mavericks’ last seven games have been on the road. The last two games were against the LA Lakers where they eked out a 104-101 win on Wednesday before tonight’s loss to the LA Clippers. Luka Doncic will have two days off before Dallas hosts the Houston Rockets on Tuesday.
Dallas’ next two games will be at American Airlines Center. Following the Rockets game, they will have a back-to-back set starting on Dec. 1 when they face the Memphis Grizzlies. The next day, they will face the San Antonio Spurs for the second time this season.
Playing in front of their home fans should give Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks a boost.