Russell Westbrook’s first bucket against the Knicks last Monday came midway through the third quarter, when the Nuggets guard drove to the basket and tried to get up a shot that was blocked by Josh Hart officially, although a few of the Knicks bench players yelled for a travel call. Westbrook retained possession of the ball, passed out, kept moving through to the corner, got the ball back and drained a corner 3.
Then he flipped off the Knicks bench. That will cost Westbrook $35,000 the league announced.
With the game out of hand, Westbrook ended up putting on a show, scoring 24 points in the fourth quarter and finishing with a team-high 27.
Westbrook has found a certain comfort level in Denver coming off the bench and often playing next to Nikola Jokic, and Westbrook brings real energy with him off the bench, but he remains an inconsistent scorer at this point in his career. Westbrook averages 12.2 points and 5.9 assists a game for the Nuggets, but has a 50.6 true shooting percentage that is well below the league average.