Much has been made of the feisty exchanges between Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard and Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook every time they take the floor.
But Lillard took to Instagram on Thursday to quell any notions of “bad blood” between the two superstars:
View this post on InstagramThey confuse competing with hate when it’s ruthless vs ruthless … #respect #1stTripleDouble
A post shared by Damian Lillard (@damianlillard) on
The post comes just one day after Lillard torched Westbrook and the Rockets for 36 points while also adding 11 assists and 10 rebounds. It was the first triple-double of Lillard’s career.
Lillard had previously made comments about his on-court interactions with Westbrook, suggesting he was not intimidated by trash talk (via Jason Quick of The Athletic):
“Every time I play against Russ, I say something back. Same thing with Pat Beverley,” Lillard said. “With both players, I have always backed up anything I need to say with how I’m playing. But they are two players who it’s important to me to let them know that if that’s what you want to do, you’ve met your match. I’m not intimidated, and I don’t really care what you gotta say, I’m gonna say something back. You know, kind of set that tone. Like, ‘All right … so what?’”
Lillard also recounted some verbal sparring during a game against the Rockets on Jan. 15, when he and Westbrook chirped back and forth during a trip to the free-throw line. The two had a number of mixups throughout the 2018-19 season, and things seemed downright contentious at times.
Nevertheless, Lillard clearly has respect for “The Brodie.” In fact, Westbrook seems to bring out the best in Lillard every time they play. Dame notoriously sank the Oklahoma City Thunder with 50 points and an epic buzzer-beater in Game 4 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, and he seems to rise to the occasion.
At the end of the day, it is all love.
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