Don't expect Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder to like many of social media star Joel Embiid's tweets anytime soon.
Westbrook and the Thunder defeated Embiid and the 76ers 119-117 in triple overtime Friday night. Westbrook (27 points) and Embiid (34 points) led their teams in scoring.
But Both of Embiid's swats were off of Westbrook shots at pivotal moments. Embiid's first block caused the first overtime to end in a tie.
The second block didn't have the same impact, but it came in the final minute of the third overtime as Westbrook attacked the rim in transition. Embiid came loping in from the weakside, barely made up the distance, got his palms on the ball and his momentum carried him into the stands underneath the basket.
Everything seemed kosher between the two, but Westbrook has a long memory. It seems he was still seething by a moment in the first overtime when Thunder center Steven Adams fouled out and Embiid waved goodbye to his counterpart.
So after the game, Westbrook mocked Embiid's gesture by smugly waving and pointing at the Sixers center as he walked off the floor in defeat.
Speaking to the media in the locker room afterward, Westbrook explained his parting message.
Never one to back down, Embiid shot back with a dig at Westbrook's inefficient scoring night, which included 23 missed shots. While outscoring Westbrook by seven points on 14 fewer shots, Embiid had the last laugh at Westbrook's expense.
Westbrook won the game, but getting into a war of words with Embiid likely won't end well for the Thunder's explosive point guard. Embiid has a list of victims on his Twitter feed to prove his prowess.
Easy ticket
So who really are the professionals?
Tickets for four NFL games dropped below the price of three prime high school matchups in California and Texas this weekend, the Los Angeles Times and USA Today reported. Saturday was a huge day for high school football, with Mater Dei-De La Salle (Calif.), Allen-Cedar Ridge (Texas) and Katy-Lake Travis (Texas) all having implications for national prep rankings.
But it's not the high prices on those games that's noteworthy. Tickets are selling in the $10 to $15 range for all three games. It's the discount-bin prices on the secondary market for some real stinker NFL matchups that raise eyebrows.
The L.A. Times found tickets on secondary seller Vivid Seats on Thursday morning for Sunday's Dolphins-Bills matchup in Buffalo going for $12. That's a premium price compared to Cardinals at Redskins, Ravens at Browns and Thursday night's snoozer between the Broncos and Colts in Indianapolis. Tickets could be had for the low-low price of $5 for each of those games.
Outside of Bills-Dolphins, they're all terrible, low-stakes Week 15 matchups. And even with the Bills and Dolphins still in the playoff hunt, it's still Bills-Dolphins in Buffalo in December. Pack three jackets.
It's a challenge the NFL faces every year late in the season when sorry teams out of the playoff hunt inevitably take the field.
But, still. Five bucks. That's got to set off some alarm bells at NFL headquarters.
SPORTS TRIVIA
Where does Russell Westbrook rank on the NBA's all-time triple-double list?
ANSWER
Westbrook's 89 triple-doubles are fourth all-time, behind only Oscar Robertson (181), Magic Johnson (138) and Jason Kidd (107)
Sports on 12/17/2017