Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook respond to Kobe’s trash talk in some style – NBA Report
When the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Steve Nash and Dwight Howard in what was a block buster off season, nearly all the pundits tipped them to be the next NBA champions and certainly the best team out of the Western Conference
- even better than last year’s NBA finalists Oklahoma City Thunder.
That was something which wouldn’t have gone well with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the two stars who have been the inspiration behind OKC’s emergence. If that was not enough, enter Kobe Bryant and his time with the duo during
the London Olympics training camp. The Black Mamba, is master of trash talk, and according to Ric Bucher of CSNBayArea.com, he really pushed the buttons of KD and Westbrook, the league’s highest scoring duo this season;
“…source says the Black Mamba talked relentless smack during the Olympics that the Thunder stars weren’t going back to the Finals after the Lakers acquired Steve Nash and then added Dwight Howard right before the U.S. played Spain
for the gold medal. Kobe also made a point of guarding Westbrook during practices and pumping him up, the theory being that he wanted to incite Russ to bump heads with KD over who the team’s best player is. (If you think that’s too conspiratorial to be real,
you don’t know Kobe.) KD, in particular, got tired of hearing him. For what it’s worth: KD and Westbrook’s combined 69 points is the highest single-game total they’ve posted this season.”
After some initial stumbles, the Thunder have been a class apart so far this season. They entered the game against the Lakers last night with a six game winning streak behind their back and literally exploded at the sight of purple
and gold.
Westbrook, who was continuously guarded and smack talked by Kobe during the training camps, scorched the Lakers with 27 points inside the first half, an effort which included 5 of 7 shooting from the three point land. By the time
the night ended, Thunder had spanked the Lakers 114-108, sending them crashing to a 9-11 record, at the lowly eleventh in the West.
Durant finished the night with 36 points and 9 rebounds while Westbrook ended off at 33 with 8 assists and judging by the intensity the duo showed on the night, they ain’t finished with the Lakers yet.
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