“Russell Westbrook Was About To Miss This Layup As Well”: NBA Fans Unearth Overshadowed Lowlight From Game 6

Prateek Singh | 02/05/2025
Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook (4) shoots the ball against LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) and guard Bogdan Bogdanovic (10) in the second half during game six of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Intuit Dome.

The LA Clippers, facing elimination in Game 6, pulled off a gritty 111–105 win against the Denver Nuggets to force a Game 7. The trio of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Russell Westbrook failed to capitalize on the strong start and ended up being dominated by the Clippers in the second half.

Westbrook, who had a pretty solid game in the first three quarters, failed to make a statement when his team needed it the most. This included a missed open layup and a few other terrible sequences.

With under three minutes to go in the fourth quarter, James Harden missed a shot at his end. Jokic grabbed the rebound and sent the ball across to the court, where Westbrook was open. Shockingly, the 36-year-old missed the open layup, failing to cut the lead down to four points.


He made another blunder when he missed a dunk with no defenders around him. Westbrook’s missed sequences were one of the reasons why the Nuggets couldn’t win Game 6. There was another sequence where Westbrook went for a layup but was blocked by Nicolas Batum.


Some fans believe that Westbrook got lucky because of the block because his layup wasn’t going in. The fan wrote, “I am not kidding, I think Westbrook was about to miss this layup as well if he hadn’t if been blocked.” Looking at the footage, it does seem like he was about to miss again as the ball touched the outer side of the rim and wasn’t positioned well enough to go in. Fortunately for Westbrook, it’ll count as a blocked shot.


His speed and athleticism have played a huge role in taking his career to the next level. However, the sheer speed with which he attacks the rim sometimes leads to rushed finishes, even when the shot seems wide open. In this case, the pressure of the moment and his tendency to push the tempo might have played a role in what should’ve been an easy bucket.

In six games in this series, Russell Westbrook is averaging 13.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3 assists. The two teams will meet for the final time this season for Game 7 at the Ball Arena on Saturday.

Post Edited By: Sameen Nawathe
Russell Westbrook

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Prateek Singh

Prateek is a Senior NBA Writer for The SportsRush. He has over 900 published articles under his name. Prateek merged his passion for writing and his love for the sport of basketball to make a career out of it. Other than basketball, he is also an ardent follower of the UFC and soccer. Apart from the world of sports, he has followed hip-hop religiously and often writes about the origins, evolution, and the biggest stars of the music genre.

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