Familiarity bolsters trio’s impact
SAN FRANCISCO — The three friends and teammates gathered at the free-throw line waiting for the result of a replay review, D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley all hoping that the officials would let stand the foul called in favor of the Lakers before the third-quarter buzzer had sounded.
The call stood upon review, allowing Vanderbilt to shoot two free throws with six-tenths of a second left after he had been fouled by Golden State’s Draymond Green. Vanderbilt made both for a sixpoint Lakers lead en route to a 109103 win over the Warriors on Saturday night at Chase Center.
The victory broke a three-game losing streak. The Lakers (26-31), who occupy 13th place in the Western Conference, two games out of being in postseason contention, return to play Monday night against the Trail Blazers (27-29) in Portland, Ore.
Russell, Beasley and Vanderbilt were on the Minnesota Timberwolves last season when the team went to the playoffs, the trio developing a bond that remained after Beasley and Vanderbilt were traded to the Utah Jazz in the summer.
Now the three were together again playing major roles for the
Lakers in their debut, having been acquired in a three-team trade Wednesday in advance of the NBA trade deadline.
“Actually us three were on the floor together a lot of times, so we always had that dialogue going and finding ways to use other options, see what they are taking away and what they are giving up,” Russell said.
“Just trying to take advantage of that as well. So, it was just open dialogue. Nothing crazy.”
Added Vanderbilt: “I was saying the other day, it makes the change just so much easier when you go through it with someone that you’re familiar with. And I’m very familiar with those guys’ games. And also just off the court. The vibe, the energy that we bring, I think it just jells well with the group of guys that we already got.”
Vanderbilt had a good allaround game, scoring 12 points off the bench while grabbing eight rebounds and handing out four assists in 17 minutes.
He was involved in several plays in the third quarter that showed his versatility.
Vanderbilt cut to the basket, took a pass from Austin Reaves and threw down a two-handed dunk.
Vanderbilt grabbed a rebound and went coast to coast, scoring on a 360-degree spinning layup to avoid a defender.
“Yeah, that’s part of the game. I feel like I’ve kind of always played like this,” he said. “The first thing Coach told me is: ‘Just be you. Just go out here and play hard. Bring energy and effort.’ And I feel like I did that.
“That was kind of the way that the game was going, the flow of the game.”
The 360-move is part of his game?
“Yeah, I put a little extra on it . ... Just kind of reading the defense,” he said.
“I had one defender in front of me. We ran the lanes pretty well. We were spaced . ... Can’t show ’em everything.”
Late in the third quarter, Vanderbilt was in position to make the play while being fouled by Green because Russell had found him with a nifty pass over the Warriors’ defense.
“Yeah, and we’ve been running that play for a long time, just kind of like me slipping out,” Vanderbilt said.
“So, me and D-Lo, it was basically just like old times. We figured I got fouled and we got a great look.”
Russell was solid in 35 minutes, finishing with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds. He worked with Anthony Davis often to get the offense in gear.
Beasley was the least effective of the three.
A 35.4% three-point shooter, he missed all six of his three-point attempts and was two-for-nine shooting from the field.
He finished with four points, two rebounds and one steal in 16 minutes.
Injury updates
Lakers forward LeBron James
was listed as questionable for Monday night’s game at Portland because of left ankle soreness.
James, who was listed as questionable for the Golden State game Saturday before he was downgraded to out, has sat out the last two games.
He last played against New Orleans on Tuesday night, when he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s
NBA scoring record to become the league’s all-time leader with 38,390 points.
The Lakers also listed Davis (right foot stress) as probable.
New backup center Mo Bamba,
who was acquired in a trade from the Orlando Magic for Patrick Beverley on Thursday, is out while serving the final game of a fourgame suspension.
Bamba was suspended while with the Magic for his role in an oncourt altercation with Minnesota guard Austin Rivers.
Bamba is eligible to make his Lakers debut Wednesday night against the Pelicans at Crypto.com Arena.