Russell Westbrook has press conference blowup over ‘crossed-up’ Lakers question

Coming off an epic comeback against the Trail Blazers on Sunday night, the Lakers aimed for a three-game win streak against the Clippers on Tuesday night.

Instead, a fourth-quarter rally that saw the lead trimmed to 10 slipped away when Russell Westbrook threw a bad inbounds pass to Dennis Schröder, which resulted in a Kawhi Leonard three-point play.

The momentum they had built with a 10-2 run withered away with just under six minutes left. Following the turnover, the Clippers would score eight straight points on their way to a 133-115 win.

In his postgame press conference, Westbrook did not take it well when a reporter asked where the two Lakers guard got “crossed up” on the play.

“What’d you mean crossed up?” an annoyed Westbrook responded. “What’d you mean? How were we crossed up?”

The reporter rephrased his question, “Did you guys get crossed up on that play?” he asked.

“No, It was a five-man play, it wasn’t between me and Dennis,” Westbrook responded matter-of-factly.

“Okay what went wrong on that inbounds play?” the reporter attempted.

The Lakers press and Westbrook have had their fair share of tension-filled moments, dating back to last year when Westbrook received a slew of criticism from the media and fans for his lackluster play.

Schröder and Westbrook were also seen having an animated conversation on the bench after the turnover. Meanwhile, LeBron James sat nearby, looking at the ground in despair after dropping 46 points in the lopsided loss.

The Lakers hope to get back on track Wednesday night as they play host to the Spurs. The team also expects to have Anthony Davis return to play on a minutes limit; hoping he can give them a much-needed spark for their playoff push.