![\"Former](\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/t_share\/MjEyNjQzMTQzMzYxNzY2OTIx\/usatsi_24324667.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Los Angeles Lakers comfortably beat the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday night 136-115 at Crypto.com Arena, marking their seventh straight win.<\/p>\n
In a game which the Pelicans never led again after being up 2-0, superstar guard Luka Doncic joined elite Lakers company.<\/p>\n
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Becoming just the fifth Lakers player with 30 points and 15 assists in a game, Doncic joined LeBron James, Jerry West, and Magic Johnson on that historic LA list (via NBA history on X).<\/p>\n
The Lakers are continuing to find their rhythm since the blockbuster trade acquiring Doncic, however, that was not the only key trade that has contributed to this winning streak.<\/p>\n
Brooklyn Nets guard D’Angelo Russell (1). \u00a9 Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images © Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images The first trade the Lakers made this season was on Dec. 29 when D’Angelo Russell was moved to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith.<\/p>\n
Since Russell’s return to the Nets where he was an All-Star in 2019, he has flourished personally while possessing the ball more.<\/p>\n
According to Brian Lewis of the New York Post, the former No. 2 pick in the draft out of Ohio State has expressed interest in re-signing with Brooklyn this summer as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent after exercising his player option with the Lakers last summer.<\/p>\n
D’Angelo Russell reportedly wants to stay in Brooklyn because he has more control of the ball, per @nypost “Russell – whose 8.7 assists per 100 possessions with the Lakers were his worst since his rookie season – has handed out a dozen per 100 since joining the Nets, the best\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/e8t7LeLOfU \u2014 NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 5, 2025 “Russell – whose 8.7 assists per 100 possessions with the Lakers were his worst since his rookie season – has handed out a dozen per 100 since joining the Nets, the best in his career by a huge margin,” Lewis wrote. ”<\/p>\n
With the ball in his hands and a leadership role, Russell is believed to have told those around him he wants to stay.” Since rejoining the Nets, the 6-foot-3 point guard is averaging 13.7 points and 5.7 assists on 38.0% shooting.<\/p>\n
While the shooting percentage is a career-low for Russell, he has played just 18 games in Brooklyn, and could still be finding his way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Los Angeles Lakers comfortably beat the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday night 136-115 at Crypto.com Arena, marking their seventh straight win. In a game which the Pelicans… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40087,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n