Minus LeBron, D’Angelo Russell’s career-best 44 lifts Lakers
ANGELES –LeBron James missed Friday night’s game due to injury, but D’Angelo Russell made up for it with 21 of his season-high 44 points in the fourth quarter and a game-winning shot with 5.9 seconds remaining as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 123-122.
Just before the buzzer, Spencer Dinwiddie stopped Damian Lillard’s step-back jumper to preserve a thrilling victory for the Lakers. James, on the other hand, rested his ailing left ankle and missed his ninth game of the season altogether because of the ongoing injury.
Russell led Los Angeles with a remarkable performance that included nine 3-pointers, tying his career high, and nine assists. In the last 1:13, he scored eight points as the Lakers recovered fromWhen forced to play without James or Davis, Russell increased his offensive production once more, making confidence shots and using the ball well to distribute the ball offensively. Despite acknowledging that his four trades during his NBA career and the yearly trade rumors that surround him have sharpened his focus in difficult situations, Russell seemed surprisingly casual about his biggest game of the season following.
I always felt like I could accomplish anything on the floor, and it’s a little more exciting when it gets hot,” Russell remarked. “Off the floor, you guys are undoubtedly aware of my experiences. All that public humiliation has done is shape me into the killer you all see me as today. I’m always confident. I don’t ever fear conflict. All the smoke, please. I simply sensescored a team-high 34 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists. Despite Lillard scoring eight of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, the Bucks lost for the second straight game.
Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers stated, “It is a missed opportunity, but if we had won, that doesn’t change anything.” “Our goal is to move forward and improve. I believed that we had the game under control, but we gave up. Giannis Antetokounmpo, that occurs, and it will happen again. We also win some the other way.
With 2:53 remaining, Antetokounmpo’s jumper gave Milwaukee its first lead since the beginning of the second quarter. Two possessions later, Lillard made a four-point play, but Russell’s three-pointer cut the Bucks’ lead to one.
Despite the fact that his team was not able to win, Rivers expressed hope in the Bucks’ play in the fourth quarter.
“You want to win all these games, but that’s the stuff that we’re going to keep doing more and more until it becomes us,” Rivers stated. “The two-man game that Damian and Giannis were playing for a while was unstoppable. We wish to support that as much as possible.”
This was Antetokounmpo’s 43rd triple-double in his career, his eighth of the year, and his first since January 24. Pat Connaughton finished with a career-high 17 points, including a crucial 3-pointer in the closing minutes.
With a left shoulder injury, Anthony Davis only scored two points in the fourth quarter but finished with 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who had
