D’Angelo Russell’s Hot-Hand Propels Lakers Past Bulls

Though a plucky 4th quarter from Chicago closed the gap some on the scoreboard, the Lakers controlled the game and got an offensive explosion from beyond the arc to take down the Bulls 141-132 Thursday night. The 141 points was a season high and, with the victory, the Lakers are back up to .500 on the season.

D’Angelo Russell continued his torrid shooting in this one, nailing eight of his 13 attempts from distance and 10 of his 18 shots overall en route to a team-high 29 points to go along with four assists. Russell tested the limits of his own range and of the Bulls ability to effectively cover him from beyond the arc as he hit every manner of three-pointer imaginable.

From quick-release and high arching flings to heavily contested and drifting heat checks, Russell accessed what he recently called his “superpower” of getting hot and going on a scoring run that put the Bulls back on their heels. Pouring in make after make, Russell helped push the Lakers lead from single digits to the teens, and then into the twenties with a 17-point third quarter that had his teammates out of their seats and questioning what they were witnessing.

Joining Russell with a hot shooting night of his own was his backcourt mate Austin Reaves who hit seven of his nine shots from the field, including two of his three shots from distance to score 20 points while dishing out eight assists and grabbing three rebounds. Reaves mixed in strong drives to the rim in both transition and the half court, while also making the defense pay with the long ball when they allowed him too much space or were late on a rotation.

And while the Lakers guards certainly did a lot of the damage, the superstar frontcourt duo was also fantastic. On the same night he was named to his NBA record 20th All-Star game, LeBron James tallied a double-double with 25 points and 12 assists on 10 for 19 shooting, including three made triples on four attempts.

LeBron expertly carved up the Bulls defense, doing much of his work out of the post both against his primary matchup and against smaller defenders when the Bulls went to a switching scheme or got cross matched. And then, as a passer, he moved the ball to punish Chicago when they over committed or made the right reads in the the instant they gave him even a crack of daylight to find an open teammate.

As for AD, after starting just 2-8 from the field and missing some shots he typically knocks down, he made eight of his next 10 shots to finish with 22 points along with 11 rebounds and six assists. Eventually finding the range on his jumper and providing his normal downhill force and gravity as a roller and off his own drives, AD got into the paint and finished more effectively as the game wore on.

A key to the Lakers getting the separation that carried them to the win was their defensive pressure and their ability to not just force Chicago miscues, but to turn those into points. The Lakers forced 17 Bulls turnovers and converted those into 26 points to really make them pay for coughing the ball up. Many of those were of the live ball variety too, allowing the Lakers to get out in transition and get the types of easy baskets that not only build runs, but get the crowd into the game.

Jarred Vanderbilt was especially good in this area, tallying three steals and generally being a pest in the passing lanes and with his on-ball pressure. Beyond his defensive pressure and activity, Vando also had his best offensive game of the season, scoring 17 points on eight of 11 field goals — many of which came off smart cuts that got him into space where he could finish at the rim.

This, then, was exactly the type of game the Lakers needed. Even though the 4th quarter did not go as well as they would have hoped, the Lakers still won pretty comfortably and showed how well they can score the ball when their offense finds a rhythm and when their defense can force some turnovers and allow them to get out in transition.

They had 35 assists on their 53 made baskets and connected on 20 threes on the evening, rewarding their ball movement and general unselfish play with the type of shooting effort that can carry you to a win.

They will look to carry this performance forward as they now venture back out on the road for a six-game trip, starting in San Francisco when the visit the Warriors on Saturday.