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After a woeful night in Boston, the Washington Wizards took care of business at home and qualified for the 2021 NBA Playoffs by beating the Indiana Pacers 142-115. Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal orchestrated the win, but the duo had plenty of help from teammate Daniel Gafford, who had 15 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks.
The Washington Wizards' showed more grit and cohesion on Thursday night as compared to their first NBA Play-In Tournament game. Much of it was down to Russell Westbrook getting back to his aggressive self. Brodie finished with 18 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds to lead the Wizards to victory in this do-or-die affair.
Russell Westbrook talks about bouncing back from bad outing against the Boston Celtics
The Washington Wizards suffered a bad loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. Speaking to the media after tonight's win, Russell Westbrook delved into what the last 48 hours were like for him.
"You can ask my wife, my mom, my dad, my brother – they’re so annoyed with me right now," Westbrook said. "I was so pissed at my performance and just wasn’t feeling the best when my team needed me the most."
Westbrook then delved into the mindset that allowed him to bounce back from his underwhelming performance against the Celtics. He mentioned:
"When I was Oklahoma City, Mo Cheeks always told me, 'Great players don’t have two back-to-back bad games.' I always keep that in my mind when I do play bad to make sure that I'm locked and loaded for the next game."
Russell Westbrook delves into how the Washington Wizards turned their season around
The Washington Wizards were languishing at 13th in the East back on April 6 with a 17-32 record. It took a monumental effort from both Russell Westbrook and the rest of the Wizards crew to qualify for the playoffs from that situation.
Westbrook delved into the locker room talk he gave to inspire his teammates.
"I just wanted to let the team know that this season – at the time we were struggling and everybody was doubting us on the outside – we just had to find a way to knuckle up and make the playoffs, simple as that," Westbrook said. "We had to look in the mirror, starting with myself, and I made it clear to the guys that we’ll make it."
The Washington Wizards have now set up a date with the best team in the East, the Philadelphia 76ers. This would pit Russell Westbrook against Joel Embiid. Expect sparks to fly considering the duo have had several verbal spats over the years. For the time being, though, Westbrook is giving the Sixers some deserved respect.
The first game of this NBA Playoffs series will take place on Sunday, May 23rd at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
