With LeBron James ruled out of the Los Angeles Lakers-Milwaukee Bucks contest, Giannis Antetokounmpo and co. were projected to grab the win. However, D’Angelo Russell wasn’t going to allow the Purple & Gold to suffer their 2nd straight loss. Recording his best performance of the 2023-2024 season, D’Lo led Darvin Ham’s boys to a 123-122 win that resulted in Skip Bayless lauding him.
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With LeBron James out and Anthony Davis getting hurt during the contest, D’Angelo Russell took on a major chunk of the team’s offensive load. Playing 38:11 minutes, the guard shot 9 three-pointers and finished the night with 44 points and 9 assists.
While Russell was terrific all game long, his performance in the clutch played the biggest role in their 1-point win. With 1:15 minutes remaining in the game, D’Lo knocked down a three-pointer to cut down the lead to 2 points. 35 seconds later, he connected a huge and-1 to trim the Bucks’ lead to 1 point. Ultimately, with less than 6 seconds, the 28-year-old hit the go-ahead bucket.
D’Angelo Russell WENT OFF for 44 PTS and scored the game-winner to give the Lakers the edge over the Bucks!
44 PTS
9 3PM
9 AST
6 REB▪️ Russell joins LeBron James and Kobe Bryant as the only players in Laker history with 9 3PM in a game pic.twitter.com/HYC2LQOGVx
— NBA (@NBA) March 9, 2024
An incredible outing from the 6ft 3” star resulted in Skip Bayless to shower him with praises. Taking to X (formerly “Twitter”), the UNDISPUTED analyst commended the southpaw for being an “All-Star offensive talent”.
WHAT A GAME WITHOUT LEBRON BY D’ANGELO RUSSELL: 44 POINTS ON 17-25 WITH 9-12 FROM 3!!! TWO HUGE LATE RUNNERS INCLUDING THE GAME-WINNER. AS I ALWAYS SAY ON UNDISPUTED, DLO HAS ALL-STAR OFFENSIVE TALENT.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 9, 2024
As expected, Bayless also found a way to criticize LeBron James. Crediting Russell’s incredible display to James’ absence, the Fox Sports analyst believed that the guard had a “rare green light tonight”.
I am not remotely suggesting the Lakers are better without LeBron. But they play more freely, with more spirit, more fire without him — probably because they all believe they have to do more and there’s no deferring to LeBron. DiLo had a rare green light tonight.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 9, 2024
D’Angelo Russell has taken the next step since the trade rumors
After a pretty mediocre performance in December, D’Angelo Russell was one of the names to be brought up in trade rumors. D’Lo was one of the names rumored to be placed on the trading block when the Lakers were reportedly planning to acquire Zach LaVine.
The rumors resulted in a terrific production by the 2nd pick of the 2015 draft. In January, he shifted gears and elevated his game, recording 22.7 points and 6 assists per game. He followed his impressive performance by lodging 20.2 points, 7.5 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game, as per ESPN, in February.
Now, D’Lo has solidified himself as the third scoring option for the LA side behind the All-Star duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Going ahead, the point guard will play a huge role in the Lakers’ postseason push.
