Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook sat out Monday night’s home game versus the New York Knicks with left thumb soreness.
Westbrook first injured his left thumb on Sunday, Feb. 2 when a New Orleans Pelicans player swiped at it. He missed one game with the injury before returning that Thursday — when he scored a game-high 41 points and led the Rockets to a key road victory against the Los Angeles Lakers.
When head coach Mike D’Antoni met with reporters less than two hours before tip-off at Toyota Center, the stated expectation was for Westbrook to play. But when the starting lineups were announced about an hour later, Eric Gordon was in Westbrook’s usual spot.
Russell Westbrook is a late scratch with thumb soreness.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) February 25, 2020
Westbrook was in Los Angeles earlier in the day to attend Kobe Bryant’s memorial service, which he did alongside teammates James Harden and P.J. Tucker. But while all three players returned to Houston in time, only Harden and Tucker actually played in Monday’s game.
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Westbrook was officially scratched just before tip-off. While D’Antoni will update his status in his postgame press conference, it certainly doesn’t seem like the injury is viewed as serious, given that the expectation going in was for the 2020 All-Star and former NBA MVP to play.
Per Mike D’Antoni, the jet carrying James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and P.J. Tucker is landing in Houston now. All three attended today’s Kobe Bryant memorial service in Los Angeles.
They should arrive at Toyota Center in time for the 7 p.m. tip-off. All will start. #Rockets pic.twitter.com/KkcSuEfLJH
— SportsTalk 790 (@SportsTalk790) February 24, 2020
Westbrook is right-handed, which fortunately for the Rockets (36-20) means that the sore thumb is not on his shooting hand.
The status of the Knicks (17-39) could also be a factor, since Houston has a tougher opponent visiting Wednesday in the form of the Memphis Grizzlies (28-28). The Grizzlies defeated Houston last month in a game that Westbrook missed due to planned maintenance on a back-to-back.
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Houston entered Monday with wins in seven of its last nine games. In that stretch, Westbrook has averaged 32.1 points on 51.9% shooting and 35.3% on 3-pointers, along with 6.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.
Russell Westbrook is back from LA in time for tonight’s game. #Rockets #OneMission pic.twitter.com/e1KfsXmPNE
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) February 24, 2020