Russell Westbrook ejected after late dunk breaks unwritten rule

The NBA has a whole host of unwritten rules and Aussie Josh Giddey’s OKC side has left one of the game’s biggest stars fuming.

LA Lakers star Russell Westbrook led from the front in the absence of LeBron James but it wasn’t enough to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder.

But the 123-115 loss to the Aussie rookie Josh Giddey-led Thunder had some salt rubbed into the wounds in a late moment that saw Westbrook ejected after a heated eruption after accusing Darius Bazley of breaking an unwritten rule of the NBA.

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Westbrook tallied his first triple-double in Lakers colours, scoring 20 points, 13 assists and 14 rebounds. He also had 10 turnovers.

It didn’t stop an implosion from the Lakers however, who led by 26-points early in the game, as Giddey secured his first NBA double-double in 18 points and 10 assists to become the youngest player to dish out 10 assists in a game since LeBron.

But with Westbrook was left fuming when with four seconds left in the game and the Thunder five points up, an inbound fail from the Lakers went straight into the hands of Darius Bazley, who put the exclamation point on the result in emphatic style.

Darius Bazley put an exclamation mark on it. Photo: Twitter

Only Westbrook was far from happy.

The NBA has a long list of unwritten rules but one is that teams will dribble out the clock late in the game if a win is already assured as a sign of respect.

Westbrook chased Bazley as the referees gave the Lakers star his marching orders after his second technical foul of the game.

Westbrook was still steamed in the post-match press conference.

“How I play the game, I’m more old school,” Westbrook said. “When s*** like that happens, I don’t let it slide. In the game of basketball, there’s certain things you just don’t do. The game was already over, and I didn’t like it. Simple as that.”

Russell Westbrook was furious. Photo: Twitter

Bazley’s teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had a team-high 27 points, also spoke to Bazley after the play

“I know Baze, he didn’t mean no disrespect by it. It happened, heat of the moment. I know Bazley character he didn’t mean no disrespect. If it’s right or wrong (unwritten rule), I don’t know.”

But while the explosion on court and comments after the game pointed to it being wrong, social media appeared to think it was fine, particularly when the ball landed in Bazley’s lap with no Lakers around him.

Shout to Bazley, whatever you need to do to motivate you’re team. https://t.co/Edba04NcKf

— Kahlief Adams (@KahliefAdams) October 28, 2021

Russ *DEFINITELY* need to knock it off… He can’t complain about what Darius Bazley did AT ALL🙄 https://t.co/bDGCPZ9CBp

— BC (@B_Craw4D) October 28, 2021

Sorry, but no. The Lakers disrespected the Thunder way earlier than that by deciding they didn’t even need to bother trying anymore. The Bazley dunk is a red herring to the actual story. AK https://t.co/4nKZKyW8IO

— Kamenetzky Brothers (@KamBrothers) October 28, 2021

Dort on Bazley: "He won't do it again next time."

A little surprised by how the Thunder is reacting to the dunk. Might as well have some fun after the first win.

— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) October 28, 2021

Russ wanted to use Bazley as a scapegoat which is weird given how the Lakers played tonight.

Nothing wrong with the kid’s dunk at the end. Chalk that one up…

— Camron Smith (@camronsmith) October 28, 2021

The result sees the Lakers fall to 2-3 for the season, while it was the first win for the Thunder in the 2021/22 season.

It also ends the Lakers 230-game streak over the past 25 years of winning when 25 points or more ahead in a game, according to ESPN Stats.

“It’s a disappointing loss,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “We took our foot off the gas. After that big first quarter lead, usually you catch yourselves and sustain it, but we weren’t able to do that.

“Our focus, intensity and effort on the defensive end slipped — but lesson learned. We can’t take the foot off the gas against anyone.”