During their time as teammates, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell formed a bond that was very evident on and off the floor.
The pair excelled in the backcourt together in their two-plus seasons in LA and that carried over into their friendship off the court, where they could be found on the golf course together.
Unfortunately, friendship wasn’t enough to keep the pair together and Friday marked the first time the two squared off. In a nearly storybook moment, D’Angelo Russell had a chance to win the game late, but his 3-pointer just missed, allowing the Lakers to escape with a win.
D’Angelo Russell was THIS close to hitting a game winner in his first game against the Lakers since being traded.
Max Christie was hounding Dlo but he still got a good look at the rim and shorts it, what a game. pic.twitter.com/QOK2yc9LiZ
— LakeShow Highlights (@LSH_lakeshow) January 18, 2025
After the game, Reaves had the jokes when asked in his presser about that potential game-winner.
“Man, it looked good,” Reaves said. “Not good for us, but the ball looked good in the air. It wouldn’t have been in that position if I didn’t miss about four shots in a row, but I’ve seen him make that shot a million times. Max played good defense, but good defense can only take you so far sometimes and, like I said, I’ve seen them make that shot.
“Fortunately, it didn’t go in, so thank you.”
Thanking your friend for missing a game-winner is how you know the friendship is real.
There would have been a hilarious irony in watching D’Lo, who did not once celebrate with his patented “ice in my veins” celebration during his second stint with the Lakers, get a chance to hit the “ice in my veins” celebration in the literal first possible chance he could get in his return to Crypto.com Arena.
For the content, I almost wish the shot would have gone in. Almost.
Austin and D’Lo did embrace after the game on the court. For all the complaints fans may have had about D’Lo and the faults in his game, few players have an ability to catch fire and, subsequently, energize a crowd as quickly as he could.
Fortunately on Friday, that didn’t include a game-winner. And we all thank him for that.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
