Despite D’Angelo Russell playing the best basketball of his infant NBA career, the rookie’s strong play was a speed bump for the perennial championship-contending San Antonio Spurs, who rolled to a 109-87 win.
For the second straight game, Russell set a new career-high in scoring, this time dropping 24 points by going 9-of-23 with five 3-pointers. He also collected six rebounds and six assists while starting in place of Jordan Clarkson (sprained ankle).
“He’s starting to look much more comfortable in terms of controlling the pace of the game, being aggressive, taking shots where he hasn’t and also creating movement for others,” Kobe Bryant said.
Russell racked up 15 points in the first half, as did Lou Williams. But the final two periods proved San Antonio’s league-best defense, as the duo combined for just 13 more points, while the Lakers were outscored by 20.
“(San Antonio) just kind of bucked down, and we knew at halftime … that they got another gear or two that they can go to; we’ll just see how we react to it,” head coach Byron Scott said. “I thought our guys got a little frazzled. Mentally, we’ve got to be a bit tougher than that. But that’s a great team. That’s why they’ve won championships.”
L.A. shot just 34.1 percent after halftime, but things fell apart on both ends in the fourth quarter, as the purple and gold shot an 8-of-25 clip to San Antonio’s 13-of-18.
The Lakers (3-20) trailed by just five in the third quarter, but San Antonio went on a 14-2 run to pull away for good.
The Spurs (19-5) led by as many as 25 late in the final quarter, as LaMarcus Aldridge (24 points, 11 rebounds) led them to their 21st consecutive home victory by shooting 11-of-20 from the field.
Larry Nance Jr. experienced little success in defending the four-time all-star.
“Larry’s a rookie; (Aldridge) took advantage of it,” Scott said. “He had one of those all-pro-type games, which he’s very capable of doing.”
Kawhi Leonard complemented Aldridge with 16 points and 11 rebounds, but Patty Mills was even more damaging. With Tony Parker given the night off to rest, Mills dropped 22 points in as many minutes by shooting 9-of-11.
D’Angelo Russell finished with another career-high in points, scoring 24 in tonights game. https://t.co/YMiAb8TUIq
Notes Scott does not expect Clarkson to be available for Saturday’s game in Houston. … The Lakers made just six free throws — their fewest since November 2013. … Kobe Bryant finished with 12 points (5-of-12), six rebounds and four assists. Longtime rival Tim Duncan had five points and four rebounds. … A crowd of 18,418 sold out AT&T Center.
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A photo posted by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Dec 11, 2015 at 6:50pm PST
