LOS ANGELES — For much of the last year, home has not been a haven for Russell Westbrook.
His grand entrance to the franchise he cheered for since childhood quickly collapsed under the strain of losing, and Westbrook – struggling with turnovers and slumps – often found himself the unwitting poster boy for the Lakers’ foibles. He told reporters at one point he had stopped wanting his family to come to home games, watching their father get booed and feeling the sting of unruly fans themselves.
The clouds broke Sunday evening – just a week removed from arguably the low point of his Lakers tenure – when Westbrook gestured to the home crowd to get up and clap during an Anthony Davis free throw. The fans stood up and cheered, fully behind the embattled 33-year-old guard, as if seeing the light for the first time.
The biggest development for the Lakers was that they won: With a 121-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets at home, they’re no longer the last winless NBA team (1-5). But the standout moments of the game were infused by Westbrook, who came off the bench for the second straight game and whipped the fans into an enthusiastic frenzy.
In one memorable moment to close the third quarter, he pitched a pass to Austin Reaves, who drove in for a lay-up and got a foul to boot. Westbrook charged toward Reaves, screaming and flexing with his teammate, as the crowd chanted “LET’S GO LA-KERS!”
Westbrook had 18 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, showing the aggression and energy of his Oklahoma City prime. The Lakers outscored the Nuggets by 18 points when he was on the floor.
While his Big Three teammates poured in plenty in the Lakers first win of the year – LeBron James had 26 points while Anthony Davis had 23 points and 15 rebounds – the reception Westbrook got was perhaps the loudest and warmest he’s gotten in any of his games as a Laker. But Westbrook said his greatest joy came from moments like the one with Reaves, seeing his teammates feeding off his energy.
“I love seeing my teammates, flourish, honestly,” he said. “I get a joy by seeing others do great. My whole career, what lifts me up is to see others do well. And tonight was that night to see guys making shots, competing and that’s all you can ask for.”
The warm feelings were all the more surprising because of a week ago: Playing crunch time minutes against Portland, the Lakers struggled to attack the Trail Blazers’ scheme of hunkering down in the paint against Westbrook. Westbrook compounded it by making a late mistake – pulling up for a jumper with 27 seconds left – that resulted in the Lakers fumbling away a 7-point lead with two minutes remaining.
In the interim, he missed a road game against Denver, then came back against Minnesota in a bench role that head coach Darvin Ham said should be the status quo going forward. Somehow, that decision has unlocked the dynamic version of Westbrook that the team envisioned back in 2021 when they traded for him.
His team responded to his play also: After one of his fourth-quarter shifts after Westbrook had forced a turnover and made a 3-pointer, Ham stood with his head pressed against his, as if to encourage him to keep the heat on.
“One of the biggest things about me getting this job was for him to get that respect that he deserved because a lot of what went on last year was not his fault, and everything, all of the blame, was placed on him,” Ham said. “And so I told him, ‘Man, just listen to me. Believe in me, bro. I’m gonna put you in a positon to succeed with the group. But you have to put the group first. It can’t be about me or I or mine. It’s gotta be us, ours, we.’ And he’s done that.”
The Lakers gained steam as the game went on, outscoring their visitors in each of the final three quarters. After starting the season shooting an NBA-worst 23% from behind the arc, they were 13 for 30 on 3-pointers against Denver, an overflowing gush of offense after their trickle in their first five games.
Davis played through obvious back pain to match up with reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. The last of his 10 field goals was a key putback as the Lakers held onto their lead, but Davis grimaced as he landed, and finished out the game limping.
Still Davis held his own, matching Jokic’s main counting stats (23 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists) nearly tit for tat. For every wince was a matching triumphant shout as he drained his jumpers in front of the Denver bench. Davis said the pain changes day by day, but he’s trying to tough out his injury.
“It kinda just comes and goes, these little shocks that go,” he said. “But at that point, it’s like you’re playing off of adrenaline. So, I know tonight, maybe tomorrow, I’m probably going to feel it more. But it’s all manageable. Just gotta do what I can to make sure I’m on the floor to help the team win.”
James started as slowly as anyone, blowing his first four shots from point blank range. But he and Davis combined for 15 of the Lakers’ 28 points in the fourth quarter, including a three that felt like the dagger. Lonnie Walker IV had 18 points, while Reaves added 10.
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After the game, the team cut Ham’s postgame speech short, as Patrick Beverley led the players’ postgame shower of Ham, who notched his first win as a full-time head coach.
“He made a speech and it was like, ‘All right Coach, we don’t care what you’re saying,’” said a grinning Davis. “And then we drowned him with water.”
But Westbrook got the biggest curtain call, getting to the free throw line with 47 seconds left to a roar of approval. As he left for the locker room, the arena blared Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.”
Maybe L.A. is finally starting to love him back.