LeBron James Stares Down Ex-Teammate Russell Westbrook Despite Trailing Double Digits

Lakers forward LeBron James was clearly not aware of the scoreboard when he started taunting ex-teammate Russell Westbrook.

The Lakers played a "road" game in LA Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers and got absolutely worked. To be fair, the Lakers were playing the second of a back-to-back while the Clips came off three days of rest.

But the pressure was still on the Lakers to win the game and retain their shot at avoiding the play-in tournament by reaching the sixth seed.

Russell Westbrook Gets Last Laugh Over LeBron

With a tired squad and bad history against their intracity rival, the Lakers' loss was almost permissible ... until LeBron James decided to get cocky for absolutely no reason.

In the fourth quarter, down double digits, LeBron James drove to the rim and was fouled for the and-1 layup.

After James completed the basket, he sauntered over to the Clippers bench and stared down Russell Westbrook, the ex-Lakers guard that was shipped to the Jazz before this season's trade deadline.

It's clear that James still has some bad blood with Russ.

WATCH:

LeBron appeared to also give Westbrook some words as the Clippers guard looked on and stayed silent.

James' trolling could have been cold, if not for the fact that the Clippers still held a 14-point lead at the time.

The Lakers (41-39) went on to lose 125-118 — never standing a real chance of winning against the Clippers' advantage with coaching and role players. Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers won their 11th consecutive game against the LakeShow.

The Lakers remained at the seventh seed in the West after their loss — LA welcomes the Phoenix Suns on Friday to continue jockeying for a higher postseason seeding.

Written by

Alejandro Avila lives in Southern California and previously covered news for the LA Football Network. Jeopardy expert and grumpy sports fan. Known for having watched every movie and constant craving for dessert. @alejandroaveela (on X)