Westbrook, Durant hold no animosity ahead of first playoff matchup

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are set to go head-to-head for the first time ever in a playoff series, but seven years after the former’s controversial decision to leave Oklahoma City, the latter isn’t using it as motivation in the first-round matchup.

Westbrook said there are no hard feelings on his end toward Durant as his Clippers prepare to face the Suns.

“It will be normal for me,” Westbrook told reporters of the upcoming playoff battle against Durant. “I think people still think like there’s some beef or something. There’s no beef of any [kind], so I think that’s the good narrative for media, for people to talk about.

“But there’s no beef. I got nothing but respect for him and things he’s done with his career and having to see him back from injury. There’s no beef at all. But he knows I’m going to compete, and I know he’s going to compete and that’s all it is.”

Durant was similarly calm regarding the situation on Wednesday.

“I think Russ is competitive against any player he plays against — I don’t think it was just specific to me,” Durant told reporters Wednesday. “For a lot of the fans and the people that were watching, it was high intensity and entertainment for them. But for us players, it’s just another game, regularly-scheduled programming.

“Russ is that way. I’ve played with him for so long and watched him for so long that he was that way against everybody. So I don’t expect anything different.”

Westbrook and Durant were one of the league’s best duos during their eight seasons together with the Thunder from 2008-16. Durant won MVP in 2014 along with multiple scoring titles during that stretch, while Westbrook was a perennial All-Star for years.

But the Thunder only reached the NBA Finals once during Durant and Westbrook’s time together, back in 2012. They reached the Western Conference finals twice after that, but lost both times, including in 2016 when they blew a 3-1 series lead to the Golden State Warriors.

Durant joined the Warriors as a free agent in the ensuing offseason.

In this instance though, time appeared to heal all wounds. Westbrook not only said he holds “no beef” toward Durant, but he also praised his former teammate’s scoring ability.

“He’s always been very efficient,” Westbrook said of Durant. “But I think his ability to be more efficient and still score the ball at a high rate. … He’s probably one of the best scorers I’ve seen, just can score at ease and look so effortless.

As for Westbrook, he’s bounced back in recent months after he was bought out by the Utah Jazz following his trade from the Los Angeles Lakers. Westbrook’s averaged 15.8 points and 7.6 assists per game with the Clippers, starting all 21 games in which he’s appeared.

The Clippers-Suns series tips off Sunday in Phoenix.

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