You can imagine how good it must feel for Brooklyn Nets guard D'Angelo Russell to hit a big shot in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers. And with Brooklyn leading by three points and under 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter on Tuesday night, that's exactly what Russell did:
When asked about taking the shot, according to NetsDaily reporter Anthony Puccio, the 22-year-old had a perfect answer:
“What about it? It gave us a better opportunity to win,” said Russell.
Back in 2015, the Lakers made Russell — then 19 — the second overall pick in the NBA draft. He spent two seasons in Los Angeles., learning on the fly as a starter on one of the worst teams in the league. Russell averaged 14.3 points and 4.0 assists while shooting 40.8 percent in purple and gold, but in June 2017 he was sent to Brooklyn. In the deal, the Lakers dumped the contract of center Timofey Mozgov and received back Brook Lopez and first-round pick Kyle Kuzma.
In two seasons with the Nets, Russell has steadily improved. This season, he has posted career bests in points (18.0), minutes (29.2), and assists per game (6.2) while shooting career highs from the field and 3-point range.
Against the Lakers in Brooklyn on Tuesday night, Russell scored 22 points with a career-high 13 assists. He wasn't as good against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night with only 13 points, but the Nets pulled out their seventh straight win.
As for the Lakers, the trade has turned out just fine so far. While dumping Mozgov's contract helped provide the cap flexibility that was used to sign LeBron James this past summer, Kuzma is averaging 18.2 points per game in his second season in the league.
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