Russell Westbrook tallied 13 points in 21 minutes in his first game action as a member of the Houston Rockets, a 134-129 loss to the Toronto Raptors in Tokyo.
“It wasn’t bad,” said Westbrook, the longtime Oklahoma City star and former MVP now in his first season with Houston. “Unfortunately, we didn’t win. That’s the main goal. But it was good to get on the floor for the first time, get up and down, try to find a rhythm. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Westbrook has reunited with former Thunder teammate James Harden, who poured in 34 points in 27 minutes.
Harden made his first six shots and finishing 11 for 14 from the field. His final points were a pair of free throws with 3:40 left in the third quarter that put Houston up 104-87. He checked out shortly afterward, and Toronto outscored Houston 47-25 the rest of the way to rally for the win.
“It was amazing,” Harden said of the Tokyo crowd. “They got an opportunity to see what NBA basketball is about, what Rockets basketball is about. They brought the energy tonight. They were excited from the beginning of the game. They made us want to go out there and put on a show, so hopefully it can be that same kind of atmosphere on Thursday.”
The exhibition game at the Saitama Super Arena, a site for basketball at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, was the NBA’s first in Japan since 2003. The Rockets and Raptors return there to conclude the two-game series on Thursday.
Raptors coach Nick Nurse said he liked the arena and felt energy from the Japanese fans.
“We get ‘Let’s go Raptors’ in a lot of cities,” Nurse said. “It’s nice to see it in Tokyo as well. Lot of Raptors fans around the world. It’s great.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.