Facing rumors that he could be traded to another team, D’Angelo Russell is still playing focused and shining brightly for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Before the match between the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls started, attention turned to LeBron James when he was named in the 2023 NBA All-Star squad.

But as the Lakers and Bulls began clashing at Crypto.com Arena, fans’ attention turned to D’Angelo Russell with yet another stellar performance.

The 1996-born defender shined with 29 points (including 8 successful 3-pointers), along with 4 assists, 1 steаl and 1 block to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 141-132 victory at home.

D’Angelo Russell continued his momentum to bring the Los Angeles Lakers back to winning ways

This 29-point match (10-18 FG, 8-13 3PT) continued D’Angelo Russell’s trend of “transfer season sublimation”. Over the past 2 weeks, he averaged 26.3 points with a shooting rate up to 52.1% 3PT , 6 times leading the Lakers in terms of points scored in a match.

Coincidentally, this shining performance of Russell came around the same time he appeared in transfer rumors. The Los Angeles Lakers are in need of strengthening their roster and D’Angelo is one of the main “assets” placed on the negotiating table.

If he keeps playing like this, Russell will definitely cause the team’s leadership a huge headache in the last 2 weeks of the transfer market.

Over the past 2 weeks, D’Angelo Russell is averaging more than 26 points per game and has a success rate of more than 50% on long shots.

Besides D’Angelo Russell, the Los Angeles Lakers had a 22-point game from Anthony Davis and a 20-point – 8-assist performance from Austin Reaves. 

On the day he was named captain at NBA All-Star 2023, LeBron James completed a double-double with 25 points and 12 assists, along with 4 rebounds and 2 steals.

LeBron James reappeared after 1 game out due to ιnjury, leaving his mark with 25 points and 12 assists

Not only the stars mentioned above, but the entire Lakers team played extremely well in this match. They Һit over 64% of their 3-pointers (20-31 3PT), Һit over 60% of their FGs and had 35 assists.

The furthest gap the yellow and purple team created was 24 points before allowing the Chicago Bulls to shorten the score to 141-132 after 4 rounds. The number of 141 points scored is also a season-high for the Los Angeles Lakers.This victory helped the Los Angeles Lakers return to a 50% win rate (23-23 record), ending a streak of 23 consecutive days playing at home.

Now LeBron James and his teammates will have a 2-week away trip including 6 games, leaving the Crypto.com arena and surrounding area for the annual Grammy Awards ceremony.

The Lakers’ series of games away from home will begin with a match against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday morning, January 28.