The Los Angeles Lakers took on the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, and things got chippy between the two teams following a flagrant foul involving Lakers star Russell Westbrook.
The foul occurred late in the third quarter when Spurs forward Zach Collins attempted to block Westbrook in the paint after Westbrook got multiple rebounds.
As Westbrook was going up for a layup, Collins came down hard and seemingly connected on Westbrook’s face with his elbow.
Don't Touch Russ 😤
Zach Collins has been ejected with a flagrant two foul. pic.twitter.com/vFyEPOQn8c— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) November 27, 2022
Westbrook instantly got in the face of Collins, visibly upset about the hard hit that he received. Collins was ultimately issued a flagrant 2 foul for the incident, resulting in an immediate ejection from the game.
After both teams calmed down, Westbrook realized that he had a massive cut on his forehead from the foul that was dripping blood.
RUSSELL WESTBROOK OMG pic.twitter.com/fxhjnZmEmA
— buckets (@buckets) November 27, 2022
He instantly got a towel to stop the blood from dripping on the court, and was later taken back to the locker room to get it looked at.
While the foul didn’t look all that dangerous on the replay, it is clear that it caused some major damage to Westbrook’s face.
Russell Westbrook took a HARD elbow from Zach Collins 😳pic.twitter.com/E5mDu4xJX6
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) November 27, 2022
Russell Westbrook looking like he's just gone a few rounds inside the octagon… 🤕#NBA
— bet365 AUS (@bet365_aus) November 27, 2022
Zach Collins just caught Russell Westbrook across forehead as he fouled him – drew blood. 1st glance, didn't look that bad but Collins ejected w a flagrant 2. But bc Russ went after him, Russ got a tech. Back in the day, that play would've been a common foul, no flagrant or tech.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) November 27, 2022
Zach Collins with a devestating elbow on Russell Westbrook 😳pic.twitter.com/7NROZwF6x2
— Covers (@Covers) November 27, 2022
Russell Westbrook was WWE bleeding pic.twitter.com/bhb7Z5F1kW
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) November 27, 2022
Luckily for the Lakers, Westbrook was able to return to the bench in the fourth quarter after it was determined that the cut did not require stitches.
Russell Westbrook just returned to the bench and gave Darvin Ham a thumbs up that he's available to return.
Laceration required no sutures.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) November 27, 2022
Despite a poor start for the Lakers to begin the year, they have managed to turn things around as of late, winning four of their last five games.
Russell Westbrook has been criticized immensely during his time in Los Angeles, but it certainly seems like his teammates had his back during this incident.
[Photo Credit: Spectrum Sportsnet on Twitter]
