It’s been a little more than a year since Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell started playing together, but they’ve already become good friends on and off the court.

Reaves and Russell often play golf together, and each other also gives the Lakers big games every so often. Russell’s turn came on Friday night against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The starting point guard for the Lakers scored 44 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out nine assists. He made the game-winning jumper and then Spencer Dinwiddie blocked Damian Lillard hard to seal the win.

Russell gave a great show, and Reaves loved it the most.

“Man. It’s pure joy at those times. In the Memphis series, I think it was Game 4, Bron made the layup. I remember it if it was me or DLo. I told him in jest, but it wasn’t really jest, that it was one of the happiest times of my life. “All I did was stand there because I had nothing to do,” Reaves said.

“But tonight is the same. While we were on breaks, I kept telling DLo to take us home because I saw him take over the game. He was putting himself together well, and I could tell from the way he played and how he felt. Always sure of himself when he plays. It was one of those games where AD was having trouble with his left arm in the fourth quarter, but DLo stepped up and won the game for us. Spence also showed great defence with that possession. It’s hard enough to keep Dame in front of you without having to block his shot. That’s not something many people do. “Big-time plays.”

Russell has been on fire lately, which is why his name is always being talked about in trade rumours. The Lakers didn’t make any moves in the end, though, and Reaves is glad to see his backcourt partner continue to do well for the purple and gold.

“That’s lovely. I like the way he plays the game, to be honest. He said on his show the other day, “I have two left feet, I can’t jump.” “He can still go do great things like tonight, though,” Reaves said of Russell.

“That’s how he plays the game.” His game is one of the smoothest I’ve ever seen or been around. Just look at what he does when no one is looking. Like I said, he’s always in the gym working to get better at what he does. We golf together a lot and are very close. It’s beautiful to see someone you care about succeed on or off the game. He may have mentioned this before, but he likes basketball. Even though trade rumours were going around, he went to work with a smile on his face because he was going to play hoops. It’s lovely to see.

D’Angelo Russell talks about his big night to lead the Lakers

Russell and the Lakers have had a rough year, but his recent play has put them back in the running for the title.

After having a great game against the Bucks, Russell talked about how he got so good and how much he loves Lakers fans.