LOS ANGELES — The rattle of nerves throughout Friday night’s back-and-forth game revealed just how much the Lakers have needed a little something extra this season.
A shot of ice in their veins.
D’Angelo Russell made an impressive comeback from a six-game layoff with a sprained right ankle, making five 3-point shots on his way to a team-best 28 points and nine assists and turning a team that has already been improved since the trade deadline into one that was inspired. A 122-112 victory over the Toronto Raptors saw the Lakers erase multiple double-digit deficits – thanks much in part to a bench that wouldn’t quit and Russell’s cold-blooded shooting that capped the team’s best sequences.
“I was just flowing, honestly,” Russell said of his return. “Obviously this is my first game back and just itching to get back on the floor so to get back out there and perform and be back out there with those guys, they were playing at a high level and be able to contribute to that was just fun. I couldn’t help but smile.”
The Lakers improved to 8-3 since adding Russell and four others, strengthening their No. 9 position in the Western Conference on a night when two conference competitors both lost. They’re now a mere game-and-a-half behind their fifth-place arena neighbors the Clippers, and in the locker room, confidence is soaring.
Strikingly, the Lakers were able to win with just eight points and nine rebounds from Anthony Davis, who had been a one-man offensive wrecking crew since LeBron James was injured last month. But shooting 13 for 30 from behind the arc and 56.3% overall helped the Lakers overcome that, especially with a drastic 61-12 bench point advantage spurred by Dennis Schröder (23 points, seven assists), Austin Reaves (18 points) and Rui Hachimura (16 points) who had a knack for turning the tide when the Raptors threatened.
“That’s a sign of growth,” Coach Darvin Ham said. “And that’s a testament to how deep and talented we are now.”
The Lakers overcame big nights from Toronto forwards Scottie Barnes (32 points) and O.G. Anunoby, who scored 31 while making his first 11 field goal attempts. The Raptors coaxed the Lakers into 21 turnovers, which early in the third quarter looked like it would be their undoing.
Reaves had one of the best sequences of the fourth, leading a bench charge with an and-one bank shot, a pull-up jumper from midrange, and chasing down Gary Trent Jr. to force a turnover. Jarred Vanderbilt (16 points) made a key hustle play moments later, grabbing a steal from going out of bounds, which found its way to Russell for a critical 3-pointer.
But ultimately it was impossible to ignore Russell’s heroics: The former 2015 Lakers’ lottery pick had 16 points in the fourth quarter alone, nailing all four of his shots in the period and sending the home crowd into an absolute frenzy. Davis had a pull-up dagger over Pascal Siakam with 46 seconds remaining, but it was unquestionably a highlight-studded return for Russell, who is strutting in his return to L.A.
“I know this from being here, the fans are ready to explode at a certain point in the game,” Russell said. “It could be the start of the game, then it dies down a little bit, but in that third quarter, that fourth quarter, they’re ready. I know that. I just wanted to bring that energy and kinda give them that.”
The highs and lows of the game were captured by its middle frames: an epic second-quarter gallop that showcased all the best traits of the new-look Lakers – and a third-quarter collapse that was nearly as lopsided.
The Lakers took an early first punch from the Raptors, who led 25-10 at one point, and came clambering back. The last six minutes of play in the first half featured a 21-5 run by the Lakers and some dazzling plays from Russell.
On back-to-back possessions, the 27-year-old danced into the paint for a smooth finger roll unguarded, then crossed over Fred VanVleet into a Davis screen, nailing a 3-pointer. Russell also assisted on the next field basket by Rui Hachimura, who had a second straight impactful game.
The Lakers entered the half with a 70-62 lead, one of their best-looking offensive halves without James in the lineup – an incredible set-up, of course, for a tumble.
Toronto came out of the intermission looking for blood, rattling off nine straight points to take the lead from the Lakers before they had a chance to breathe. It was a 19-2 run before the Lakers finally had their first field basket of the third quarter, a 6:35 shot by Reaves after Ham had already swapped in the second unit looking for offensive answers.
Davis spent the night wrestling with Anunoby, Barnes, Jakob Poeltl and the Raptors’ other big bodies, fronted in the post and otherwise smothered from nearly all entry passes. For most teams, it would be a knee-capping to lose their leading healthy scorer (who had averaged 33 points in his previous three games). But the Lakers, suddenly buoyed by shooting, have some scoring to spare.
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The Lakers were able to hang in thanks to Schröder and Reaves, who captained from the bench and trimmed the deficit to five before the fourth quarter. The guards, who have been spot starters this season, showed their chemistry in the fourth on a Schröder bounce pass to a driving Reaves, who sliced through a befuddled Toronto defense for a dunk.
“It’s just like those type of energy plays, it really spreads throughout the team,” Reaves said. “The next thing you know you got another guy doing it and another guy doing it and another guy doing it. The bench tonight, everybody was almost a plus-20 and that’s what we are capable of because we’re so deep.”
The word “deep” might not have sprung to mind when describing the Lakers a mere two months ago, but with a remade roster and streaking role players, the team seems made over mentally, too.
“These guys came in, all of our newly acquired players, came in with a mindset to help us go somewhere, and that somewhere is the postseason,” Ham said. “So they’re proving it with their play, their commitment and everything they’re doing for one another. Whether they’re starting, coming off the bench, high minutes one night, low minutes, it doesn’t matter. Everybody is bought into the group. It’s a beautiful thing to see.”
DLo TOOK OVER in the Lakers W
Q4: 16 PTS, 5/5 FG, 4/4 3PM
Total: 28 PTS, 9 AST, 5 REB, 5 3PM pic.twitter.com/V2BggfAp9B
— NBA (@NBA) March 11, 2023
“I just want to bring that fun back to this organization, bring that laughing factor, bring all of that, and let it translate on the floor.” @Dloading pic.twitter.com/08NlKWnog4
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 11, 2023
Darvin Ham with his takeaways from tonight’s win over the Raptors and the amazing guard play tonight. pic.twitter.com/Z0M52AdGyI
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 11, 2023
AUSTIN REAVES TO THE RACK
Lakers lead 107-98 in Q4
Watch live on NBA TV
: https://t.co/WjxYAo0Ivs pic.twitter.com/mTSNKKBgto
— NBA (@NBA) March 11, 2023
The #Lakers bench tonight was +20 and Austin Reaves isn’t shocked at all. He knows how deep this team is. pic.twitter.com/BvbxTCs5jR
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 11, 2023
“We had a great rhythm and that is something that we hope we continue throughout the season.” @WenyenGabriel wants to keep the ball rolling after the #Lakers bench scores 61 points tonight. pic.twitter.com/zZ1Y1g8tNG
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 11, 2023