Russell Westbrook (#0) of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after making the game-tying 3-pointer in the game against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, March 18, 2022. /CFP
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Toronto Raptors 128-123 in overtime (OT) at Scotiabank Arena on Friday, ending their three-game losing-streak.
This was Russell Westbrook's salvation game in which he dropped a triple-double of 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. In the last possession of the fourth quarter, he stole the ball from Scottie Barnes, drove to the front court and drained the 3-pointer to tie the game for the purple and gold 116-116 with just 0.4 seconds remaining.
One interesting detail of that play was Westbrook touched the 3-point line at first but he immediately stepped back, making sure it's a triple, instead of a 2-point jumper, in order to tie the score.
Russell Westbrook (#0) of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots to make the game-tying 3-pointer in the game against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, March 18, 2022. /CFP
"I was actually looking at his feet when he was getting close to the 3-point line," LeBron James said. " And saw him step on the 3-point line and then slide his foot back before he released it. Big-time IQ there on his part and a big-time shot by a big-time player."
"Throughout this whole process, throughout the year, ups and downs, the good and the bad, I lean so much on my faith," Westbrook said. "And it's very important that I stay faithful and truthful to that because eventually it will all workout and nights like tonight was the reason why I stay just true to my faith."
As the NBA triple-double all-time leader, Westbrook hasn't seen such stats for over three months. Since 2022, he intentionally cut down his shooting attempts and restrained from handling the ball.
Russell Westbrook (#0) of the Los Angeles Lakers drives toward the rim in the game against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, March 18, 2022. /CFP
The irony is, the Lakers' performance didn't grow any better after Westbrook's sacrifice. They were 18-19 in the 37 games he played in 2021, and 11-20 in the 31 games has played so far in 2022. Westbrook had nine triple-doubles in 2021, for the record.
The Lakers changed their lineup in Friday's game by putting both Dwight Howard and Weneyn Gabriel in the starting squad. The change worked well. Gabriel scored 14 points in the first quarter. When Howard was on the floor, the team led in rebounds.
James, who had 36 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, shouldered more defensive duties on Friday night as well by defending the Raptors' ace Pascal Siakam. Though Pascal delivered seven assists, he was below season average in both field goal (FG) attempts and points.
Scottie Barnes (#4) of the Toronto Raptors penetrates in the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, March 18, 2022. /CFP
First-year forward Scottie Barnes was the best-performing Raptor in Friday's game with a double-double of 31 points and 17 rebounds plus six assists. Having missed three of his four 3-pointers, Barnes shot 12 for 15 in the paints, including making seven of eight jumpers there.
He is still the closest competitors of Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons for the Rookie of the Year Award.
Devin Booker (#1) of the Phoenix Suns shoots in the game against the Chicago Bulls at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., March 18, 2022. /CFP
Suns are close locking as regular season leader
The Phoenix Suns beat the Chicago Bulls 129-102 at Footprint Center on Friday to secure their fourth consecutive win.
The Suns reached 57-14 after this win and only three wins away from locking the regular season leader position, which will give them home advantage in every series in the postseason.
The victory came quite easy for the home team on Friday night as the Suns reached 30 or more points in all of the four quarters of the game. Meanwhile, they limited the Bulls' score to 21 and 24 points in the second and third quarter, extending their lead to as many as 23 points before the last quarter.
Seven of the Suns players got double-digit points, which said something about the depth of their franchise, and they did it without starting point guard Chris Paul and power forward Jae Crowder.
Deandre Ayton (#22) of the Phoenix Suns shoots in the game against the Chicago Bulls at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., March 18, 2022. /CFP
"We don't want to be 'Chris and Book' dimensional," Suns head coach Monty Williams said. "We want to be comfortable to go to other guys so that in those key moments it is not something new to them."
As the third-best player of the team, Deandre Ayton had a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds after shooting 8 for 11. Though he played less than 24 minutes, Ayton's presence in the paint caused a lot of trouble for the Bulls' defenders.
"He is aggressive in the post. I didn't see a ton of finesse," Williams said. "I saw, 'I am getting to my spot and if you are not going to give me any resistance, I may go through you'."
This was the Bulls' third loss in a row and eighth loss of the past 10 games. The team saw their deficit behind the fourth Boston Celtics grow to 1.5 games in the Eastern Conference.
"We're at that time of the year where nothing is a secret," DeMar DeRozan said of the Bulls' recent slump. "We've played great basketball and now teams are coming after us no matter who we play. Once we figure it out, we'll be fine."
Other games on Friday (away teams come first):
Dallas Mavericks 101-111 Philadelphia 76ers
Memphis Grizzlies 105-120 Atlanta Hawks
Portland Trail Blazers 123-128 Brooklyn Nets
Denver Nuggets 116-119 Cleveland Cavaliers
Washington Wizards 97-100 New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder 108-120 Miami Heat
Indiana Pacers 121-118 Houston Rockets
New Orleans Pelicans 124-91 San Antonio Spurs
Los Angeles Clippers 92-121 Utah Jazz
Boston Celtics 126-97 Sacramento Kings