Frustrations have clearly reached an all-time high for Russell Westbrook ... because after yet another Lakers loss Tuesday night, he got into a very uncomfortable and heated talk with a journalist over a question.
The tense exchange all went down in the press conference area following L.A.'s 128-110 loss to the Dallas Mavericks ... when LA Times reporter Brad Turner asked Russ, "What changes going forward?"
Westbrook immediately bristled, saying, "Nothing, man, nothing" before he eventually turned the question on the reporter.
"What do you think should change?" Westbrook asked Turner.
When Turner responded, "Winning," Russ got up from his chair and confronted the reporter off the podium.
The two then went back and forth for several seconds -- before Russ finally diffused the situation by asking other reporters if they filmed the entire interaction.
Westbrook and Turner eventually shook hands, before the star point guard left to head back to the team's locker room.
The incident is yet another lowlight for Russ in his first season with the Lakers -- he's played so poorly for most of the year that he's had to fire back at hecklers repeatedly on the streets and at games.
In fact, the jeers have gotten so bad recently, Westbrook had to plead for fans a few weeks ago to stop calling him "Westbrick."
As for the Lakers, they're in big trouble now ... because the loss Tuesday dropped them to the 11-seed in the Western Conference, putting them on the outside looking in for the playoff play-in tournament.