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 "To be honest, I was running out of celebrations," the rookie point
guard said.
Russell sizzled with a career-high 39 points, and the Los Angeles
Lakers snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 107-101 victory
over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night at Staples Center.
Russell, who also had six rebounds, converted 14 of 21 shots from
the floor and eight of 12 3-pointers. The converted field goals and
3-pointers made also were career bests.
"I was trying to really choose my spots," said Russell, who had 16
of his 24 second-half points in the fourth quarter. "I said, 'This
is my night,' and it worked out great for me."
Los Angeles guard Jordan Clarkson had 16 points, seven rebounds and
seven assists, and center Roy Hibbert and forward Julius Randle
added 14 points apiece. Randle also collected 13 rebounds.
However, it was all about Russell in the Lakers' locker room.
"He was hot," Clarkson said. "That's what you do, feed the hot
hand."
Said Randle, "He was amazing. He made some huge shots down the
stretch."
Russell's performance was far short of the Lakers' rookie scoring
record. Elgin Baylor scored 55 as a first-year player in 1959.
Nets center Brook Lopez scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds
before fouling out with 2:43 remaining in the contest. Forward
Thaddeus Young contributed 19 points and 15 rebounds, while forward
Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 18 points and seven rebounds.
"We didn't play well, and they got going. That's on us," Lopez said.
"All things considered, we still had a shot. We got some good looks,
but we also had other opportunities as well to get back in the game,
and that just never happened."
Lakers forward Kobe Bryant sat out with a sore right shoulder. It
was the second consecutive game he missed and 12th of the season.
Two free throws and a dunk by Young sliced the Lakers' margin to
95-94 with 1:50 left before Clarkson made it a three-point advantage
22 seconds later.
Russell's seventh 3-pointer pushed the lead to 100-94 with 53.2
seconds remaining. Guard Wayne Ellington, a former Laker, hit a
3-pointer to make it a three-point game again, but Russell answered
with his final trey with 30.8 seconds left for a 103-97 edge.
Lakers forward Brandon Bass, Randle and Russell canned free throws
in the final 24 seconds to clinch the win.
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"He obviously had a big ballgame, made some big shots, and we didn't
do enough to stop him," Nets interim coach Tony Brown said of
Russell. "Credit to him, a tip of the cap to him, he played great,
he had a wonderful game, and we just didn't do enough to stop him."
Los Angeles led 58-50 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Lakers went up by as much as 12 before the
Nets rallied. After a 3-pointer by Russell gave the Lakers a 71-59
advantage with 6:04 left in the period, the Nets put together a 13-2
run to pull within 73-72 on a three-point play by Lopez at 1:40.
However, a pair of 3-pointers by Young and Clarkson allowed Los
Angeles to take a 79-74 lead heading into the final quarter.
Lakers guard Lou Williams sustained a moderate left hamstring strain
and did not return after scoring six points in 10 minutes. Williams
did not accompany the team to Denver, where the Lakers play the
Nuggets on Wednesday night.
NOTES: Lakers F Kobe Bryant (sore right shoulder) is expected to
return for Wednesday's game against the Nuggets in Denver. "He wants
to rest just a little bit more and try to give it a go tomorrow,"
Lakers coach Byron Scott said. ... Los Angeles F Larry Nance Jr.,
who has been nursing a sore right knee for much of the season, will
sit out the Denver game. Scott said Nance, who finished with six
points and five rebounds in 17 minutes against the Nets, will be
held out of back-to-back games for the rest of the season. ...
Brooklyn C Brook Lopez, who was born in North Hollywood, averaged
24.1 points per game in 11 previous meetings against the Lakers, the
highest output by any Nets player ever. ... The Lakers swept the
season series The Nets visit the Nuggets on Friday in the sixth stop
on a nine-game road swing.
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