MINNEAPOLIS — Russell Westbrook pretended to rock a baby to sleep after bullying his way to the rim for a basket. He howled after hitting LeBron James on a backdoor cut.
And when Troy Brown Jr. hit a three-pointer early in the third quarter, Westbrook put his hands high in the air — while pedaling on a stationary bike behind the team’s bench, where the rest of the Lakers’ non-starters sat.
For the first time since Nov. 26, 2008, Westbrook came off the bench for an NBA game, fulfilling coach Darvin Ham’s vision that the former MVP would be freer captaining the team’s bench unit.
