Russell Westbrook is promising revenge on Zaza Pachulia for the hard foul he took in the second quarter of the Golden State Warriors' 121-100 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With time ticking down before the half, Pachulia knocked Westbrook down, appearing to push the ball into Westbrook's face. Westbrook remained on the floor holding his face while Pachulia stood over him.
"He hit me kind of hard," Westbrook said. "But it's all right. I'm gonna get his ass back. Straight up."
Pachulia was handed a flagrant foul 1 for the play, following a review by the officials.
"No, I didn't see that until just now, but I don't play that game," a clearly agitated Westbrook said. "I'm gonna get his ass back. Whenever that is, I don't know what it's going to be, but I don't play that game."
The Warriors visit the Thunder on Feb. 11.
"I thought it was a good steal, honestly, because I had the ball in my hands," Pachulia said. "Officials called a foul; there's nothing you can do. A foul is a foul. If it was a hard foul, it was a hard foul. There is nothing you can do. So you just move on. If he got hurt, that's fine too. It's part of the game."
Pachulia said he is not concerned with Westbrook's comments, instead focusing on what the Warriors have in front of them.
"We're thinking about this team and staying healthy moving forward and, better, getting into the playoffs and playing for the championship. That's what I'm thinking about," Pachulia said. "I'm not thinking about these kind of comments. That team is not there, so they might be thinking about other stuff, like getting back. So, you know, OK, you can get me back.
"But this is my 14th year. We all know what my game is, to play hard. Not dirty, but play hard. If it was a hard foul, it was a foul. It wasn't dirty at all, so I'm not worried about this."
Via Royce Young/ESPN
