Russell Westbrook found himself quarrelling with fans yet again on Monday night ... and this time, he needed to be separated from the tiff by not only his teammates, but his opponents as well.
The Clippers star got into the heated spat with what appeared to be a couple of men at Crypto.com Arena toward the end of L.A.'s 113-104 loss to Denver.
Video from the scene shows Westbrook began verbally jarring with the courtside fans during a break in the action late in the fourth quarter ... before he returned as the final buzzer sounded to argue some more.
Russell Westbrook gets into an extended verbal exchange with a courtside heckler as Clippers lose 113-104 to Nuggets (minus Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon) in LA.
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) November 28, 2023
- A referee and players from both teams intervene to cool tensions. pic.twitter.com/3gmUceJOcZ
The 35-year-old point guard was clearly peeved at the guys ... though, thankfully, a referee, his teammates, and a few Nuggets players helped pull him away from it all.
Afterward, Westbrook refused to say specifically what the altercation was all about ... though he seemed to insinuate the fans had said something inappropriate about his family.
Clippers’ Russell Westbrook on the fan incident pic.twitter.com/TKtJCzwM4U
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) November 28, 2023
"Fans think they can say whatever they want," he told a throng of media members. "I'm not going to say [what they said] now because it's not appropriate, but I'm just protecting myself."
"Just unfortunate fans think they can get away with saying anything and, personally, I won't allow it."
Russ is such a good dude. pic.twitter.com/Tec7lj7BE0
— Blake Christopher (@BCH66223) April 17, 2023
Of course, this is hardly Westbrook's first heated incident with hecklers ... just seven months ago, he got into a screaming match with a man following a playoff game in Phoenix. Numerous other times recently -- including several instances during one of the worst seasons of his career in 2022 -- he beefed with fans as well.
WATCH: Toronto man records himself talking trash to Russell Westbrook and telling him that he’s “slacking on the court” pic.twitter.com/jVwgIE9dlo
— 6ixBuzzTV (@6ixbuzztv) March 18, 2022
On Monday night, Westbrook explained that now that his children are older ... he's simply refusing to take any cross-the-line shade from fans.
"Now having kids and understanding how important it is, not just myself but my last name," Westbrook said. "Understanding what Westbrook means, understanding how important that is to my dad, my grandfather, my family. It's very important. It's something I stand on, and the respect is a big thing that I value."