John Wall and Russell Westbrook, a pair of point guards with maximum salaries who swapped each other just before practice camps opened, stood halfway near the free throw line halfway through the fourth quarter, barking at each other in Toyota’s Toyota Center on Tuesday night.
Wall, who readily admitted that his adrenaline pumped hard in his first game against the Washington Wizards after spending the previous decade with the franchise, had the upper hand and apparently wanted to make sure Westbrook heard about it.
Wall had just settled all of the Houston Rockets’ points during a critical run of 9-2 – getting two buckets, sinking two free throws and hitting a 3 in the key track, giving Houston a double-digit lead in what changed in a 107-88 victory. The heated exchange that led to duplicate technical violations was called “just a basic basketball trash,” Wall said, “after Wall stumbled upon a Westbrook stumbling block, which led to a 5-yard foul.” : 16 left.
“That’s what two competitive guys do,” said Wall, who scored nine of his 24 points in the fourth quarter of the Rockets’ third straight victory. “Russ kicked me for years. This is only my third win against Russ since I was in the league. That means he’s a hell of a talent.
“I know he had the same as me, and we’re just trying to keep improving and leading our teams. But (it was) just two competitive guys talking to each other. This is not the first time. the rubbish, and we know how good he can be. ‘
Westbrook, whose career record in meetings with Wall dropped to 11-3 with the loss, did not take such a diplomatic approach when asked about the court hearing.
“Listen, I’m not starting to talk,” Westbrook said. ‘I defend myself because I do not just allow people to just say something, especially not when I know the facts for someone on the court who is playing against me. I think (Wall and DeMarcus Cousins) just started talking. s — because they were just starting to win at that time. But you know, it’s cool. We play them again. ‘
Westbrook underestimated the significance of his return to Houston, which had only one player in the starting lineup who was his teammate last season. He spent only one season with the Rockets before asking for a trade.
“I don’t like losing to anyone,” said Westbrook, who had 19 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 6 turnovers in the loss, returning his second game after recovering from a quadriceps strain.
However, the Wizards have lost a lot this season. Washington, which is still missing several players after several games were postponed due to COVID-19 cases, is 3-10 and 1-8 overall in games Westbrook has played.
On the other hand, it was a game Wall was looking forward to, as the Wizards traded him to Westbrook along with a protected future first-round pick for the Rockets. Wall has admitted several times that he felt small that the Wizards did not give him a chance to continue his career in Washington, after returning from the heel and Achilles tendon injuries that sidelined him for two years. .
“I just feel like the organization thought I was done, no matter how hard work I did during the summer,” Wall said during an interview after the Rockets’ television broadcast. “They came to watch me. I thought they thought I was done. That’s why I came out here and did what I did. ‘
Wall had 15 points and four assists in the first half, which was highlighted by going from coast to coast before going behind the back in the lane and ending up in traffic with his left hand. Wall, who was restricted to a few minutes in his second game after an absence of five games due to a sore knee, struggled in the third quarter and missed all four of his shots off the floor and turned around twice. But he locked the Wizards in fourth place when Wall, along with Victor Oladipo, scored 19 of Houston’s 32 points in the first game of the new rugby field.
“I’ve known this guy (Wall) for a long time,” said Cousins, who had 19 points and 11 rebounds. “I saw his approach to big games and games that were most important to him. I saw him perform at a high level every time, so I expected nothing less.”