NBA Sweet revenge for ex-Laker Russell in beating LA
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – D’Angelo Russell produced a double-double to lead the Brooklyn Nets to victory against his former club with a 115-110 win over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
Russell was selected by the Lakers with the second overall pick in the 2015 draft, but was traded only two years later after an unhappy start to his NBA career.
However the 22-year-old point guard reminded the Lakers of his talents with a decisive contribution to lead the Nets to victory at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
Russell finished with 22 points, 13 assists and four rebounds as the Nets improved to 14-18 in the Eastern Conference standings.
“You look at the scoreboard – it took the whole team to get it done tonight,’’ Russell said afterwards.
James finished with 36 points but was unable to drag the Lakers over the line, despite a spirited rally late in the fourth quarter when they ran up 10 unanswered points to get within three of Brooklyn.
Elsewhere Tuesday, Cleveland bagged only their eighth win of a miserable season after Larry Nance Jr. tipped in a game-winner at the buzzer to give the Cavaliers an upset 92-91 win over the Indiana Pacers.
In Atlanta, 20 points from John Collins helped the Hawks to a 118-110 win over the Washington Wizards.