The Los Angeles Lakers shot the lights out on Friday night against the New Orleans Pelicans, putting up a historic 87 points in the first half on their way to a 139-122 victory. They were led by D’Angelo Russell’s 30 points, 14 of which were scored during a two-minute stretch of the second quarter.
Russell scored 14 consecutive points for the Lakers by hitting four 3-pointers and two free throws to help L.A. propel themselves ahead of the Pelicans. The Lakers trailed 42-38 at the start of his run and led 52-47 at the end of it. It was one of the first signals of a high-powered offensive night, as they had 52 with over nine minutes to go in the second quarter.
Russell spoke about what goes through his head and what he feels when he goes on a personal scoring run of that magnitude. He has long been known as the type of player that can get scorching hot at a moment’s notice and change a game.
“Just the rhythm,” Russell said. “For me, just playing the right way and letting the game kind of come to me. It allows me to find that rhythm. Also my teammates, they draw a lot of attention so it allows me to attack the third and fourth best defenders. So I’m cool with that. But as far as what I’m feeling and things like that, I feel nothing. I’m not really thinking about anything. I’ve mentioned flow state a few times, just kind of get there and find ways to get the win.”
The Lakers guard also credited the unselfishness of his teammates after a game in which L.A. racked up 32 assists with only seven turnovers.
“What did we have 30 assists and seven turnovers, or something like that? I think any talented group, you know when you share that ball, it’s just a gravitational movement for your best players. AD, Bron, the gravity is just forced to go with them and it allows guys to attack on the backside. You saw Rui, you saw Austin, you saw myself. When we share it, the ball finds the right place.
“I think this might be too soon, but I give Nikola Jokic a lot of credit for just the way he plays. One of the most unselfish superstars we’ve ever seen and you could see around their team, everybody is dangerous, everybody is playing off of his gravity. I think that’s the way the league is going. A lot of the best players are becoming more passive and sacrificing to win. Because it’s a tough league to win in.
“When I first got in the league, I just remember it being easy to dominate the game. But now it’s harder to win, I feel like. Teams are scheming well, coaches are better, I feel like schemes are better, defense is harder. We play guys so many times throughout the year that you kind of get that feeling of familiarity with what they’re trying to do, schemes, stuff like that. You have to pass it and be unselfish, it opens up the game.”
For Russell, it’s finally starting to feel like the pieces are coming together. The Lakers have now won four of their last five and six of their last nine games.
“You can say that,” Russell said. “I think we’re still figuring it out, still trying to get guys healthy. We saw Vando come in and change our whole dynamic, we saw Cam Reddish go through stuff when he was changing our whole dynamic, TP, now Rui is being that guy. I think just with all the guys we have, it’s gonna allow guys to step up when their names are called and guys did a good job. So I think the chemistry is definitely going. The trade deadline just ended so guys are more comfortable. So I think it’s only gonna get better from here.”
The Lakers put a show of faith in the players on the roster when they didn’t make any trade deadline moves, and on the second night of a back-to-back after a difficult loss to the reigning champions, things could have gotten ugly quickly.
Instead, Russell and the Lakers rallied to put a big number on the board and grab a much-needed win to keep momentum on their season alive.
D’Angelo Russell feeling comfortable after knee soreness
Russell missed Thursday’s game against the Denver Nuggets due to knee soreness, which was first stated as a possibility prior to the trade deadline on Wednesday. After Friday’s game, he spoke about how he’s feeling.
“It’s good. Just getting comfortable. It was a little sore yesterday but felt more comfortable today, got the win,” Russell said.
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