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Westbrook: 'I would boo me too, if I were the other team'

Alika Jenner / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook is used to playing the villain, and Portland Trail Blazers fans didn't hold back after the 2017 MVP got into it with Jusuf Nurkic in the second quarter of Thursday's contest.

Westbrook admits he doesn't mind the boos from the opposing crowd, claiming he'd do the same if he was on the other side.

"It doesn't matter to me," Westbrook said after the Thunder's 129-121 overtime victory, according to ESPN's Kevin Pelton. "It doesn't change anything. But I would boo me too, if I were the other team."

Westbrook was furious after he was subtly tripped by the Bosnian big man, retaliating seconds later with an aggressive shove that earned him a flagrant foul. Nurkic received a technical foul for the dispute.

The Oregon faithful then showered Westbrook with a barrage of boos for the remainder of the game in what was an overly chippy tilt from both teams.

Nurkic was eventually ejected after netting a second technical foul for making forehead-to-forehead contact with Paul George in the final seconds of regulation.

"It's my fault because I shouldn't have put myself in that position," Nurkic said. "Especially after the second hit from Paul George - after the whistle, he hit me in the face and I should not have stepped back towards him. That cost us the game."

The Thunder have beat the Blazers in all four meetings this season and are now a full game ahead in the Western Conference standings. Portland sits in fifth place behind the Houston Rockets with 17 games remaining.

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