The Los Angeles Lakers locked horns with the Indiana Pacers yesterday in the final before clinching the in-season tournament championship. The neck-to-neck fight between the NBA teams excited the spectators as the matchup’s intensity dictated the players’ actions. One such instance occurred early into the title decider when Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell went back and forth with Pacers’ Bruce Brown.
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With less than six minutes played in the first quarter, D’Lo attempted to penetrate to the top of the key. Utilizing an off-ball screen, the point guard successfully pulled it off before Brown arrived from behind to contest his mid-range attempt. Bruce’s efforts went in vain as he collected his second foul of the game in the process, resulting in him getting substituted soon after.
The foul call sparked a heated exchange between the two opposition players as Russell stated, “That’s two,” while pointing his finger towards Brown. “Talking all that s**t,” he mentioned before directing the Pacers’ guard’s attention to their bench while yelling, “Sub”.
“N***a talk too much,” D’Angelo further added to taunt his opponent.
Bruce finally decided to answer as he put the limelight on last season’s Western Conference Finals series. His former team, the Denver Nuggets, humiliated the LA franchise with a 4-0 win on that occasion. The 27-year-old brought it up while walking off the court, stating,
“I can talk. Swept y’all a** last year”.
Refusing to back down, Russell responded, “Walk your a** down” with a repeated gesture of pointing toward the Pacers bench. “Watch when I come back,” the 2023 NBA champion replied to alert D’Lo. The 2019 All-Star issued a warning in return, stating,
“Come back and shoot them out of the game”.
It mostly spurred from their previous campaign’s conference final run where the duo collided on the court several times. The Lakers star thus came prepared for confrontation as he candidly expressed his desire to go at Bruce before the start of the final. “Talking s**t all year,” he highlighted before the match before declaring, “Show me on the court”.
D’Angelo’s antics paid off as the Pacers had to limit Brown to only 19 minutes of display during which he went 4-2-1. Russell received more minutes on the court as he registered 13-4-7 in 32 minutes in the in-season tournament final. Eventually, the title went to the City of Angels as Bruce failed to get one over the Lakers that time around.
The influence of D’Angelo Russell on the Los Angeles Lakers
Since coming into the NBA as a top prospect, his start in the league was a bit rough. After being selected by the Lakers back in 2015, the guard had to travel to multiple destinations to sharpen his axe. Following an encouraging 2018/19 season, his form dipped way before a coveted homecoming in February this year.
Acquiring him was part of the franchise’s rebuilding model as it turned things around for them. Amongst multiple other factors, the presence of D’Lo on the floor helped the Lakers reach the conference final last season. Early in this campaign, it has now earned the organization the in-season tournament championship. In fact, the squad is on a 27-14 run since welcoming Russell back home.
Despite his inconsistencies at times, the starting five looks stable with him running the backcourt. So, with him staying fit, the franchise could eye yet another NBA championship run.
