After the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers in the NBA In-Season Tournament Championship Game, Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell had strong, harsh words for Pacers guard Bruce Brown.
“He was talking s–t all year. Yeah. Talking s–t all year. For me, it was just showing it with my play. I don’t have nothing to say to him. I’m a fan of him to be honest,” Russell told NBA reporter Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. “This was just all on the court. Got something to say? Show me on the court. [Nikola] Jokic ain’t there next to you today. It’s different.”
Brown and the Denver Nuggets swept Russell and the Lakers in the 2023 Western Conference Finals. During the conference finals, Brown ripped Russell’s defense.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers, Bruce Brown, Indiana Pacers Updates
“He’s not the best defender,” Brown said about Russell. “But he definitely tries.”
Russell got his revenge against Brown in the NBA In-Season Tournament Championship Game. The Lakers star finished with 13 points, four rebounds and seven assists in 32 minutes. Meanwhile, Brown only had four points, two rebounds and one assist in 19 minutes.
“The losing throughout the year to good teams is what gets you ready,” Russell said. “If you beat teams that aren’t really giving you adversity throughout the game, you don’t really get better. You just beat up on them. [The Philadelphia 76ers game], overtime games, down 20, we need adversity. We’re a good team so we need adversity throughout our time.”
The Lakers are 14-9 on the season. They are in fourth place in the Western Conference standings.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers, Bruce Brown, Indiana Pacers Updates
“I think the biggest thing in the league right now that’s winning games is continuity to your offense and the versatility on defense,” Russell said. “I think we’re versatile, but we’re still working on our offense. That’s going to be the big thing for us.”
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