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D’Angelo Russell’s red-hot shooting carried the Los Angeles Lakers to a 116-104 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.
The 28-year-old finished the game with 26 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists in 34 minutes. He shot 9-of-17 overall and made five of 11 attempts from three-point range.
Things were going so well for Russell that when he tried to pass the ball to LeBron James, it was immediately given back to him with a look that basically told him he needs to shoot the ball.
James’ strategy paid off, as Russell hit an absurd off-balance three with Jalen Williams all over him.
That was Russell’s third three pointer in the span of 70 seconds to help the Lakers extend their lead to 24 and essentially put the nail in the coffin for this game.
Russell’s stat line on Monday was the first time a Lakers player hit those marks since Kobe Bryant during the 2005-06 season.
There has been a thought that Russell will eventually cool off, which will cause problems for a Lakers team that has struggled to find consistent success from behind the arc.
It hasn’t happened yet, and we are almost two months into this hot streak for Russell. He’s averaging 22.1 points on 46.4 percent shooting (44.4 percent from three-point range) and 6.4 assists per game in 21 starts since Jan. 17.
Lakers fans and players are certainly taking notice of Russell’s efforts and appreciate how he’s elevating the team for the stretch run.
❄️ @IceyDLO
D’Angelo Russell in the last two months:<br><br>OKC: 26 pts, 4 stl, 5 3’s<br><br>PHX: 20 pts, 7 ast <br><br>NO: 30 pts, 5 ast, 6 3’s<br><br>BOS: 16 pts, 17 ast<br><br>GS: 28 pts, 5 3’s, 5 ast<br><br>LAC: 27 pts, 10 ast<br><br>DAL: 29 pts, 5 3’s<br><br>The “Bad teams only” crowd is DEAD 😂🫵 <a href=”https://t.co/uFXM0sUMwC”>pic.twitter.com/uFXM0sUMwC</a>
Russell’s performance managed to overshadow good games by James, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves. James finished two assists shy of a triple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Davis had 24 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks in 30 minutes. Reaves scored 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range, along with dishing out seven assists and grabbing six rebounds.
If the Lakers are able to get out of the play-in tournament, they will almost certainly feel confident about their chances against Oklahoma City. They took three of the four regular-season meetings with the Thunder.
The Lakers are the only team with three wins over the Thunder this season. Their victory also knocked Oklahoma City down from the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, though it is still tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the loss column.
Los Angeles will go for its fourth win in five games on Wednesday when it hosts the Sacramento Kings.
First appeared on bleacherreport.com