Clippers Reveal Extra Motivation to Beat Lakers for Russell Westbrook

While Wednesday night's win over the Lakers was huge for the LA Clippers in the standings, it was also a game they wanted to win for Russell Westbrook. The team understood that this game was bigger than Westbrook vs. the Lakers, but multiple players admitted that element was added motivation for them.

"A lot man," Ivica Zubac said. "It's not about individuals, but we knew what was said about him, and when he came over here it was completely opposite of who he is. He is a great dude, great leader, always happy, always positive, helping everyone, and helped me a lot. He leads us on and off the court. He's a great dude so we wanted to prove everyone wrong through all the rumors and all the stuff said about him and it makes it better that it came in the biggest win of the season."

Clippers guard Bones Hyland said, "We’ve been telling Russ that for the past two days. ‘Russ, we’ll match your energy. We got your back. And we’re gonna come out with this win.' We got each other’s backs."

These comments were consistent with what Norman Powell said at practice before the game, telling reporters, "We know what's been said [in] the media, what's been said about [Westbrook] and his time [with the Lakers]. We've always shown him support since day one, since he's got here and bringing him into the fold, bringing him into the family... For any player, going up against a former organization that you were just with, you want to kind of stick it to them. So I think it's an important game for him and us as well."

The Clippers came away with a huge win in the standings, and a win they were extra motivated to get for their teammate Russell Westbrook.

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