D’Angelo Russell finally played up to his standards in a postseason game against the Denver Nuggets, and it put the Los Angeles Lakers in position to win in Game 2 on Monday.
They took a 20-point lead in the third quarter as Russell threw in missile after missile from the outside. Many fans believed the Lakers were about to break their nine-game losing streak to the defending NBA champs.
Instead, the Lakers went away from Russell, and they also went away from Anthony Davis, who was also in volcano mode in the first half. It resulted in the roof caving in on them, and the final piece plunged to the ground in the form of Jamal Murray’s game-winning shot at the buzzer.
It was as heartbreaking a playoff loss as the Lakers have had in many years. Yet Russell expressed confidence in his team afterward.
"We still gonna win. Don't give up on us."
– D'Angelo Russell pic.twitter.com/oq8gedgtsc
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) April 24, 2024
In all, Russell scored 23 points while going 7-of-11 from 3-point range on Monday. It came after he had shot 6-of-20 in Game 1 and averaged 6.3 points on 32.3% overall shooting and 13.3% from downtown in last year’s Western Conference finals when L.A. was swept by Denver.
However, only five of Russell’s 23 points in Game 2 came in the second half, and he went 2-of-6 during that span.