Much of the focus for the Los Angeles Lakers in their victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder was, of course, on defense as they completely locked down one of the NBA’s top offenses. But in terms of offense, it was yet another night in which D’Angelo Russell caught fire.
Russell led the Lakers with 26 points and it was his 3-point barrage in the fourth quarter that completely put the game out of reach. Russell wasn’t the only player who was hot from deep on this night as Austin Reaves hit 4-of-5 from 3-point range himself.
Reaves didn’t get anywhere near the same level of attention that Russell did, but that doesn’t bother the third-year guard whom he admitted he loves watching when he gets hot.
“The way that he gets his buckets in spurts like that when he gets hot is a beautiful thing to see,” Reaves said of Russell after the win. “If you roll back the tape, as soon as he got the ball, me and AD stood up and we knew it was going up even when he passed it. We knew Bron was gonna give it back to him and we knew it was going up and once he let it go, it looked good.
“But yeah, if I can go 4-for-5 and it gets overshadowed by anything we do, I’ll be the first one to be happy about that.”
Similar to LeBron James, Reaves is always about getting the win before anything else and doesn’t need the praise. It may fly under the radar, but Reaves finding his jumper again is huge for the Lakers.
But Russell’s ability to get scorching hot is a major X-factor for the Lakers and James and the rest of the team are very much aware of how important he is.
“Obviously we know,” James said. “I think I talked to you the other day about how DLo can get going where he can make three or four 3s in a row, break the game open. He did that once again today. The uncanny ability to once he sees the ball go through the hoop, he can run off three or four of them, get the crowd into it, get us hyped and able to take the momentum from them.”
Russell has proven the impact he can have on the Lakers and his play has certainly raised their ceiling overall. Reaves and Russell in the backcourt are giving the Lakers everything they need, supporting James and Anthony Davis in the frontcourt.
Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell tries to stay in the moment during hot streaks
D’Angelo Russell has had some huge moments for the Lakers this season. In fact, some of the loudest points at the Crypto.com Arena have come thanks to the point guard. It can be easy to get caught up in the moment, but Russell admits he is usually too focused to really take it all in, though he still appreciates all the love he receives.
“In the moment I don’t, but when I watch the game tonight and my friends will send stuff like that, it helps me realize that you’re really doing this, you’re really here,” Russell said. “The GOAT is like right there celebrating with you, it becomes crazy when you go back and look at it.
“But for me, I try to stay in the moment, stay locked in and once again, that’s a distraction, right? If you think about it, you’re locked into the game and you’re still in fan mode, it’s tough. So for me, I try to leave all that at the door but I’m still a fan of greatness around me, I recognize and appreciate it as well.”
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