Well, that escalated pretty quickly! Russell Westbrook’s hard foul ignites a tense scene at the Scotiabank Arena. The former MVP, who has been running the play for the Denver Nuggets during Nikola Jokić‘s off-court minutes, almost caused a potential injury for the Toronto Raptors‘ Scottie Barnes. Moreover, it didn’t end there. A chirpy Brodie further aggravated the scene into an unwanted but heated altercation, before his new teammate Aaron Gordon boldly stepped in to defend him.

It all began when Scottie Barnes forced a turnover and sprinted to make a fastbreak dunk in the transition. But the 23-year-old had Westbrook and Gordon running after him to disrupt the bucket and it was the veteran guard who made the hard foul.

Well, the Raptors’ rising star had a dangerous fall to the ground. Barnes immediately picked himself up and confronted Russell Westbrook, as the duo engaged in a heated verbal altercation. Out of nowhere, Aaron Gordon aggressively interfered. The scuffle went out of hand as they engaged in a shoving battle and Gordon even landed a shot on Barnes’ chin.

Eventually, players from both sides had to step in to separate them. Gordon and Barnes received a technical foul and Russ received a flagrant. Importantly, none of them were ejected. But the drama didn’t stop even after this scuffle. This ugly altercation occurred in the opening minute of the fourth quarter when the Raptors held a 5-point lead. As the game went deeper, it turned into a nail-biting affair.

Jamal Murray forced the game into overtime, dropping a tough layup in the final second. The Nuggets, who looked so out of touch, reclaimed their respect with a clutch win in the overtime. Thanks to Nikola Jokic, who dropped 40 points with 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, Westbrook’s embarrassing form continues for his new team.

How has Russell Westbrook been so far in the Nuggets uniform?

Ever since Brodie walked out of the OKC Thunder, it has been one disastrous outing after another. After a brief stint with the LA Clippers, Russell Westbrook found his new home in Denver, this time with an invitation from Nikola Jokić. Notably, the team is in dire need of a veteran guard after the exit of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Ahead of the season, the Joker himself positively assumed, “It’s gonna be a great year just figuring out ways to make the game easier for him because he does it for everybody else… I think he’s a great player for us, and I think he’s gonna bring us all the good stuff.” And ultimately, the fans also had similar expectations from Mr. Triple Double.

However, everything seems to have taken a U-turn, as Russell Westbrook has produced a poor shooting showcase in the first three games, shooting at 11.1% from the field and from the arc. The Mile-High City fans are not happy with the way things have panned out after the inclusion of the veteran, as they’ve often taken to social media to candidly express their discontent.

With ‘washed’ accusations and assumptions being made about Russell Westbrook game after game, can the veteran hooper improve as the season progresses? Let us know your unbiased analysis about Denver’s potential title run in the comments.