For the first half of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ big win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, D’Angelo Russell wasn’t looking good.
He scored just 2 points and was 1-of-5 from the field and 0-of-2 from the three-point line.
But during the second half, Russell lit up and scored 15 points, including a trio of three-pointers that helped the Lakers stay in the game.
Following the victory, head coach Darvin Ham praised the guard.
“[Russell] put us on his back offensively. If D’Lo doesn’t play the way he played, we don’t win this game,” Ham said, as shared by NBA on ESPN.
Darvin Ham gave D’Angelo Russell praise after stepping up BIG in the fourth quarter 👏 pic.twitter.com/iA98f8Pb2z
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 25, 2023
Lakers fans all over the world were celebrating Russell on Tuesday morning.
They thought that he was going to have a lackluster showing when the game got started.
Sadly, he has been a bit inconsistent lately so the idea of him having another off-night wasn’t too shocking.
But after halftime, Russell was looking like his vintage self and was showing why the Lakers were so smart to acquire him back in February.
He plays with energy, and speed, and seems unstoppable when he gets a hot hand.
Ham is right: if Russell didn’t have his explosive second half on Monday then the Lakers would have been in a hole when the final buzzer sounded.
Instead, the game was tied and overtime led to their victory.
When Russell gets moving like this, the entire team feels it.
Not only does he score pivotal points, but he also gives them belief in themselves and gets the crowd on its feet.
Fans of the Lakers are hoping that Russell continues to play like this in Game 5 while fans of the Grizzlies are hoping for the opposite.
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