Austin Reaves-D’Angelo Russell starting backcourt clicks for Lakers in win over Thunder
They sat next to each other at the podium after the game was over, two friends back starting together for the Lakers, two players sharing the backcourt again, two guys who enjoy being around each other on and off the court.
They have shown to be solid when paired together and that was the case against Oklahoma City on Monday night with guards Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell.
This was their second straight game starting together and Reaves and Russell responded by helping the Lakers pull out a 112-105 victory at Crypto.com Arena.
Reaves did his part with 15 points and seven assists and Russell carried his load with 14 points and six assists.
So, when asked what makes them so comfortable playing together, something that first came about last season, Russell answered first.
The Lakers defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-105 behind an all-around team effort, with Anthony Davis providing a highlight-worthy dunk along the way.
“I like him. I mean, I’m just a fan,” Russell said. “I feel like I talk about this dude every time I do an interview. I’m just a fan of his game, to be next to him and see him just be a fiery competitor on the court is contagious and seeing him dominate the game in ways just with his competitive nature is contagious as well. We golf together, he’s gonna be on my podcast soon. We’re gonna be really big. We hang out. I’m a fan.”
Russell (five-for-12) and Reaves (six-for-10) were a combined 11-for-22 from the field. Reaves played 33:10 and Russell 35:48.
When it was Reaves’ turn to talk about Russell, he was just as kind.
“Yeah, he’s just a good person, good people to be around,” Reaves said. “His people that’s with him, good people. So, you wanna put as many people like that around you as you can. And when it comes to basketball, his skills are unmatched. When he’s got the ball in his hand, you feel comfortable with what he’s capable of doing and what he’s going to do. He plays the game obviously at a really high level for like seven years now. But yeah, I’m a fan, too.”
Rui Hachimura’s play is strong for Lakers
The play started with Taurean Prince blocking a shot by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and it ended with Rui Hachimura taking care of the rest with some determination and hustle that the Lakers needed from one of their prominent role players.
Hachimura collected the rebound after the Prince defense, passed the ball to LeBron James and then sprinted up the court. James spotted him on the fast break and threw a pass that Hachimura threw down for a dunk.
A few plays later, out of a timeout, James hit Hachimura on the wing for a three-pointer that pushed the Lakers’ lead to 11 points.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham said Hachimura was “just giving us that scoring punch off the bench.”
The Lakers 112-105 win over the Thunder was in some ways a template for what they’ll have to do in order to turn their season around.
Indeed, he had 12 points on five-for-eight shooting against the Thunder.
“Obviously, Rui was a big part for us last year,” Anthony Davis said. “We just want him to get back to being himself. Sometimes he goes out and he overthinks a little bit. He wants to make the right play. ‘Like, just be yourself. Don’t think and just play basketball,’ and he’s been doing that the last two games, shooting the ball and attacking the basket.”
Jarred Vanderbilt looking good on defense
A big part of Jarred Vanderbilt’s assignment was to defend the super dangerous Gilgeous-Alexander, who is one of the top guards in the NBA.
Vanderbilt did his job well, helping to contain Gilgeous-Alexander to 24 points on nine-for-19 shooting.
Vanderbilt had three steals to go along with five points on two-for-two shooting.
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