Jakob Poeltl was dominating the paint, scoring 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting with nine rebounds in 10 minutes, and giving the Lakers serious trouble. Then he had to leave the game with a sore quad, meaning Zach Collins would get more run.
Collins was ejected for a flagrant foul 2 on Russell Westbrook that left the Lakers guard bloodied. Westbrook bounced back up and LeBron James had to hold him back from going after Collins.
Russell Westbrook takes a shot from Zach Collins and is bleeding from his forehead 😳pic.twitter.com/SXDNXnvSlL
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) November 27, 2022
No stiches needed for Russell Westbrook 🙏 pic.twitter.com/4z3hn9j94C
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) November 27, 2022
Collins plans to appeal the ejection he said after the game.
Collins said he didn't intend to hit Westbrook in the head. "I shouldn't have jumped on the pump fake, but I did. And then the worst thing you can do is give up an and-1 in that situation, so I was just trying to come down and hit his arm so the ball wouldn’t get up to the rim."
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) November 27, 2022
More from Collins on his collision with Westbrook:
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) November 27, 2022
"Unfortunately, my elbow just caught his head and he started bleeding and it looked terrible, but I honestly wasn’t trying to do anything. I just didn’t want him to get a shot off."
Collins will face a fine or suspension from the league, although he doesn’t have a history of this kind of foul, something the league takes into consideration. Westbrook also got a technical for going after Collins.
The Lakers went on to beat the Spurs 143-138, behind 39 points from LeBron James. It’s the second time the Lakers have defeated the Spurs in three days, the kind of wins over tanking teams the Lakers need if they are going to turn their season around.
