Russell Westbrook exits late in loss to 76ers with hand injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Trailing by six points with 26 seconds left against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, Wizards point guard Russell Westbrook left the game with an apparent hand injury.
Westbrook appeared to have suffered the injury after trying to collect a loose ball after Bradley Beal's late shot attempt was blocked by Sixers guard Matisse Thybulle. Reaching for the ball as it headed out of bounds, Westbrook made contact with Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, who was boxing him out.
Finishing with 20 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds and a plus-minus rating of -4, Westbrook largely took a backseat to Beal in Washington's sixth loss of the season. Beal matched the franchise record for points scored in a single game with 60.
Westbrook was tasked with matching up against a physically imposing Ben Simmons, who finished with 17 points, 12 assists and six rebounds. Despite giving up 82 first-half points, Westbrook was instrumental in providing several hustle plays that didn't show up in the box score, but were monumental in helping the Wizards complete a 21-point comeback. Though Philadelphia closed the game out late, Westbrook's energy was very much needed until his untimely exit.
While Wizards head coach Scott Brooks didn't have an update for Westbrook's status postgame, he'll likely rest that hand in one of Washington's back-to-back games against Boston and Miami.
