Russell shines in return to Lakers after trade by T-Wolves

SANFRANCISCO (AP) — D’Angelo Russell and the new-look Lakers figuredthings out on the fly to take down the defending champs on theirhome floor.

Working toget in sync with his new teammates and eager to complement AnthonyDavis and LeBron James, Russell communicated on the court all gamelong after rejoining his first team where he played from 2015-17.The Lakers picked Russell second overall in 2015 out of OhioState.

He had 15points, six assists and five rebounds in his Lakers return afterbeing acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline, DennisSchroder scored 26 points, and Los Angeles beat the Golden StateWarriors 109-103 on Saturday night in a rivalry missing the starpower of injured greats LeBron James and Stephen Curry.

“It was alittle weird but I’m trying to normalize it,” said Russell, whoalso played 33 games for the Warriors during the 2019-20 season.“The sooner the better. I’ve been in this situation. ... After thatfirst stint you kind of get comfortable again. When you get tradedso many times the irony comes back with all these teams and justkind of normalize it.”

Schrodermade a key layup with 1:17 to play after Donte DiVincenzo’s3-pointer cut the Lakers’ lead to 105-101. Davis had adouble-double of 13 points and 16 rebounds and blocked one of histhree shots on a late jumper by Klay Thompson.

“Me andD’Lo literally talked the entire game, about pick-and-roll, what hesees, what I see, what he like, what I like ... just trying tobuild that chemistry on the fly, with no practice,” Davis said.

JordanPoole had 29 points and six assists with a key go-ahead three-pointplay with 6:23 remaining, but the Warriors floundered down thestretch of the fourth quarter again. He was whistled for anoffensive foul with 45 seconds left.

“They’refrustrated we couldn’t close out these last two games,” coach SteveKerr said. “We just haven’t been able to string together enoughwins to create a little momentum and separation in thestandings.”

Poolescored eight straight points early in the fourth with back-to-back3-pointers that tied the game at 87 with 10:37 left. He also dishedoff to Ty Jerome for a layup with 5:01 to play.

James satout his second straight game with a left foot injury since becomingthe NBA’s all-time scoring leader Tuesday against Oklahoma City,while reigning NBA Finals MVP Curry was sidelined for a third in arow with a left leg injury.

Alsoplaying his first game for Los Angeles following a trade from Utah,Jarred Vanderbilt contributed 12 points and eight rebounds as thelast-place Lakers snapped a three-game losing streak. Fellow newaddition Malik Beasley missed all six of his 3s and shot 2 for 9 onthe way to four points in his first game for the Lakers after beingtraded by Utah.

“It’s ahuge win. I couldn’t be more proud of my team,” coach Darvin Hamsaid.

JAMES’HEALTH

A scan doneon James’ troublesome left ankle and foot showed no seriousissue.

Ham expectsto see James back on the floor before the All-Star break. Whenasked whether James might need to be sidelined through the break,Ham offered, “No, I don’t think he’ll allow us to do that.”

Generalmanager Rob Pelinka said earlier Saturday that nothing wasseriously wrong for James, who topped former Lakers star KareemAbdul-Jabbar during Tuesday’s 133-130 home loss to OklahomaCity.

The gamewith Golden State marked James’ seventh sidelined by soreness inthe left ankle.

PAYTON II UPDATE

TheWarriors hadn’t made an announcement regarding Gary Payton II’sphysical and whether they would go through on an agreed trade withPortland to bring the defensive-minded guard back to GoldenState.

“Obviously,this whole thing has been strange. It is what it is,” Kerr said.“There is not a whole lot to do or say, so we are just waiting itout and seeing how it plays out.”

TIP-INS

Lakers:Other new acquisitions Mo Bamba and Davon Reed didn’t play. ... TheLakers opened the season at Chase Center with a 123-109 loss onOct. 18 and Ham has been pleased with the progress, saying “I’dgive us a B. I think it’s been good. It’s year 1.” He also said:“We’ve shown a lot of resolve. We’ve shown a fierce competitivespirit.” ... LA improved to 2-9 against the Pacific Division havinglost the previous two.

Warriors: Poole joinedDraymond Green (14) with double-digit technicals this season. ...Golden State had won the last two vs. LA and three in a row in theseries at home. ... The Warriors have to monitor the number ofgames for its two-way players, so Anthony Lamb is back with the GLeague Santa Cruz team. ... The Warriors will still play the Lakerstwice at Crypto.com Arena.