D'Angelo Russell led the Los Angeles Lakers in scoring on Friday — and, possibly scoops, too.

Russell “spearheaded” the Lakers' offensive barrage against the New Orleans Pelicans, described head coach Darvin Ham. In his first game since the 2024 NBA trade deadline — he missed Thursday's loss vs. the Denver Nuggets due to a knee treatment — Russell contributed 30 points in 40 minutes, highlighted by an electrifying second-quarter sequence in which he drilled four straight triples (and two free throws). Los Angeles scored 51 points in the period on their way to a 139-122 win.

The victory placed the Lakers (28-26) three games back of the Pelicans (30-22) for the No. 7 seed.

As the action unfolded, another bucket-getting ex-Brooklyn Nets guard, Spencer Dinwiddie, emerged from the Crypto.com Arena tunnel and took a seat next to Lakers GM Rob Pelinka. Postgame, Dinwiddie was ushered into the Lakers' locker room.

After Darvin Ham evaded a Dinwiddie question by mentioning the aroma of brisket emanating from the team buffet (yes, really), Russell was asked what his former Nets running mate (2017-19) could offer the Lakers:

The Lakers and Dallas Mavericks are competing for Dinwiddie, who was waived by the Toronto Raptors. On Thursday, Pelinka said the Lakers will target a “ball-handling guard” on the buyout market, noting the uncertainty about Gabe Vincent's timetable to return from knee surgery.

Dinwiddie, a Los Angeles native, has averaged 13.6 points and 5,3 assists on .415/.331/.794 shooting splits for his career.

“He's a big guard,” said Anthony Davis (20 points). “Shot-maker. Obviously, we've seen what he did with Brooklyn, what he did with Dallas, making big plays for them. He's a well-established vet in this league.”

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Ironically, Dinwiddie's recruiting visit came on a night when the Lakers operated like a fine-tuned machine. Fueled by Russell's playmaking, the Lakers' inconsistent halfcourt offense ran smoothly from the get-go. They finished with 32 assists against six turnovers, shot 15-for-31 from 3-point range, and had all five starters score over 20 points — a feat that hadn't occurred in the NBA since 1993 (and last by the Lakers in 1984).

Anthony Davis finished with 20 points, Rui Hachimura bounced back from a no-show vs. Denver to pour in an energized 21 points, while Austin Reaves (27 points) shot 10-of-15 from the field.

“We were in a great flow,” said LeBron James, who posted 21 points, 14 assists. “The ball was poppin'.”

That said, with Vincent out indefinitely and Max Christie awaiting MRI results on his sprained ankle, the Lakers are thin at guard. 2023 first-round pick Jalen Hood-Schifino is painfully raw. Two-way player Skylar Mays was largely ineffective in his 16 minutes vs. New Orleans.

LeBron, perhaps a bit more responsibly than Russell, spoke more generally about what Dinwiddie potentially brings to the table.

“Playmaking. Another ball-handler. Another shot-maker. Another veteran. Anytime you can add a veteran with that ability, it helps. So we'll see what happens.”