Russell Westbrook ejected in loss to Grizzlies, no triple-double in sight

Thunder star takes an early exit after arguing with officials

By Matt Moore

Dec 30, 2016 at 3:55 am ET • 1 min read

Russell Westbrook had a bad night in Memphis.

The Grizzlies, without starting point guard Mike Conley, worked their way into a 20-point lead over the Thunder, and held OKC to just three first-half assists en route to a 114-80 victory Thursday. Westbrook was ejected in the third quarter for arguing with an official.

Here's what the officials had to say about the decision after the game

Crew chief Jason Phillips spoke with a pool reporter about the Westbrook ejection after the game. Here's what he had to say: pic.twitter.com/jn5nh0lTrG
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) December 30, 2016

And Westbrook had things to say after the game:

"Honestly, it's crazy man," Westbrook said. "Especially to be ejected like that when I didn't do nothing. It was just crazy, especially for me, because I feel like I don't get the benefit of the doubt most of the time, especially throughout the game, with refs."
Donovan backed his star.
"I'm not so sure he even warranted being thrown out," he said.

Source: Russell Westbrook ejected in ugly Thunder loss | Sports | normantranscript.com.

It's hard to imagine that Westbrook is officiated differently or worse than other superstars. Westbrook is 12th among players averaging 20 minutes per game in percentage of points from free throws. In reality, it seemed that Westbrook had a frustrating night against a frustrating team and his emotions got away from him.