Los Angeles Lakers floor general D’Angelo Russell got payback against Bruce Brown in the In-Season Tournament title game for talking trash all year.
“He was talking s— all year,” Russell told the Los Angeles Times. “Yeah. Talking s— all year. For me, it was just showing it with my play. I don’t have nothing to say to him. I’m a fan of him to be honest. This was just all on the court. Got something to say? Show me on the court. [Nikola] Jokic ain’t there next to you today. It’s different.”
During last season’s NBA Playoffs, Brown took a shot at Russell’s defense.
Russell and the Lakers beat Brown and the Indiana Pacers by a final score of 123-109 to take home the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament title.
Plus, Russell outplayed Brown from an individual standpoint. The former dropped 13 points and seven assists while shooting 6-of-15 from the field across 32 minutes of playing time. Meanwhile, the latter finished with just four points and two rebounds while shooting 2-of-9 from the floor.
Russell — who has also played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors — is off to an impressive start in the 2023-24 regular season. He is averaging 16.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. Additionally, Russell is shooting an efficient 40.5 percent from outside the 3-point arc.
The Lakers inked Russell to a two-year, $37 million deal in the offseason after acquiring him in a trade in the middle of the 2022-23 regular season. Los Angeles acquired Russell along with Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt in a three-team trade that also included the Timberwolves and Utah Jazz.
The Lakers gave up point guard Russell Westbrook in the deal. Westbrook signed with the Los Angeles Clippers after the Jazz decided to waive the floor general.
Los Angeles has climbed up the Western Conference standings over the past few weeks. At 14-9, the Lakers are tied with the Denver Nuggets for the fourth-best record in the conference at the moment.
The Timberwolves — who own the best record in the NBA at 17-4 — Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks are the only teams in the Western Conference with better records than the Lakers right now.
Russell and the Lakers will try to continue their winning ways when they play Luka Doncic and the Mavericks on the road on Dec. 12. The Mavericks are fresh off a win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Dec. 8 and own a 5-5 record over their last 10 games.
