LOS ANGELES >> Just as Nick Young prepared himself to face a horde of cameras, D’Angelo Russell made one simple request.
“Give me a shoutout,” Russell said.
Young seemed more than happy to hand off the assist. After all, Russell already collected plenty of his own.
Russell didn’t have his best shooting night in the Lakers’ 120-116 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday at Staples Center, but he had plenty of zip on his passes. The second-year point guard had 22 points, a career-high 10 assists and seven rebounds, helping the Lakers survive a frantic fourth quarter against a Nuggets team that had won seven of nine.
“Shoutout to D’Angelo Russell. Shoutout to D’Angelo Russell,” Young said. “It was all D’Angelo Russell today.”
Though the Lakers allowed Denver to score 40 points in the fourth quarter, the Lakers (17-34) snapped a three-game losing streak and avenged a seven-point loss to Denver (21-26) earlier this month.
That’s because Russell steered an offense that posted 39 points on 14-of-21 shooting in the final period. Young scored a team-high 23 points, and Lou Williams added 21. But it was Russell’s return from a three-game absence from a pair of mild right knee and leg injuries that energized a fluid offense. Lakers coach Luke Walton called Russell’s play “fantastic.”
“I’m proud of myself. I’ve been trying. I didn’t even know I was that close. Guys are making shots. It made it easier for me,” said Russell, who finished 7 for 17 from the field, including 2 for 7 from 3-point range. “I know how easy it is to get assists. But you can’t be a pass-first guy and get assists. You have to attack. We’re realizing that.”
The Lakers also believe Russell has realized his effectiveness does not just hinge on making shots.
“He needs to start passing the ball a little bit more like that,” Young mused. “Shoutout to D’Angelo Russell. It’s D’Angelo Russell night.”
Russell made a pull-up jumper that gave the Lakers a 116-113 lead with 46.8 seconds left. He also converted a pair of free throws to help ice the game at 118-114 with 12.4 seconds left. But his passing mostly helped the Lakers in other sequences.
Young went 9 for 15 from the field, including a 3-pointer that Russell set up to give the Lakers a 106-103 lead with 4:06 left. Williams scored 13 of his 21 in the fourth quarter, including a floater that Russell set up for a 112-111 edge with 2:16 left. Zubac, the team’s 19-year-old rookie center, was 8 for 9 from the field with six rebounds and scored eight of his career-high 17 in the fourth quarter.
“It’s much easier when you have a guard who can pass from the pick and roll,” Zubac said of Russell. “When you set a good screen, sometimes you expect to get rewarded. D’angelo definitely knows when to reward the big guy for rolling and when to take shots by himself. It’s fun to play pick and roll with him.”
Walton also sensed Russell’s teammates having fun because of his presence.
“I thought there were multiple guys who really played a part in the style that was fun to watch, fun to coach, fun for the fans,” Netspor Walton said, again returning to Russell. “It helps when you hit shots, but the fact he’s playing downhill and attacking and aggressive, I think is what leads us to play like that. When you play that style you get lost in the game and you’re more likely to knock down a couple.”
Walton had stressed all season for Russell to show a stronger blend of knowing when to look for his shot and when to set up his teammates. In this case, Russell mostly relied on his passing since it was more effective. Walton saw him making that kind of progress before injuring his right knee and right calf on Jan. 20 against Indiana.
“He started playing a lot more aggressively,” Walton said beforehand. “That’s what we need out of him. As long as he’s playing with that type of aggression, the shot will come.”
Meanwhile, Russell noticed another development coinciding with his improvement.
“I give credit to my teammates,” Russell said. “It’s hard to be the point guard, especially playing with a young team. They made it easy for me tonight and previous nights also.”
Not all the time, though.
Russell only shot 1 for 7 on Jan. 14 against the Clippers and went 2 for 9 on Jan. 17 against Denver. Still, the Lakers valued Russell’s return for obvious reasons. The Lakers are 14-21 with him in the lineup and 3-13 when he’s been out this season with various left and right knee injuries.
Still, Walton did not chalk up Russell’s absence to the Lakers’ recent struggles.
After all, the Lakers defeated Indiana when Russell left early in the game. They then followed with their most lopsided loss in franchise history, a 49-point defeat to Dallas for reasons that went beyond Russell’s injury.
“Obviously we’re better with D’Angelo. He’s a very talented player. But we don’t sit there and use that as an excuse,” Walton said. “Every team is obviously better when they’re at full strength. But at this league, everyone on every team can play so everybody should be able to fill in.”
But with the Lakers at full strength, they depended on a player to successful guide their offense even when his shot remained a work in progress.
“He was our leader on the court, and he was making all the right plays,” Zubac said. “He needs to play like that, and I think he can do it every night.”
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