Westbrook’s health is more important than the game of basketball – LeBron James

LA Lakers’ Russell Westbrook’s face was covered with blood after he copped a nasty tackle from San Antonio Spurs’ Zach Collins on Saturday. Collins caught Westbrook with his right forearm when the Lakers’ man was trying to hit the basket with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Westbrook fell to the ground and reacted aggressively before LeBron James separated him from the brawl and wasted no time putting a towel on his bloodied head.

“His health is more important than the game of basketball,” James said after the game. “So just tried to stop that and let the training staff do their job after we got him over to the bench.”

The Lakers went on to win against the Spurs by 143-138 as James top-scored with 39 points and 11 rebounds and played a key role in the team’s win.

James revealed that he saw the cut on Westbrook’s head as soon as he got up from the ground.

“I actually saw the cut right when it happened once he got up off the floor and wanted to, uh, wanted to do something to Zach,” said James.

After the video was monitored by the match officials, Collins received an ejection for a flagrant 2 foul while Westbrook was also given a technical foul for reacting aggressively after the collision.

“I was confused on that one myself,” Westbrook said of the tech. “I wasn’t sure why I got one, but I’ll check with the league and talk to them about it and we’re figuring out why that was. Maybe it was because I probably hopped up or something. I’m not sure.”

Westbrook also scored 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists in 27 minutes for the Lakers. Darvin Ham’s team will next face Indiana Pacers on Monday night.