D'Angelo Russell believes the Los Angeles Lakers are only going to get better after he scored 30 points to help seal a 139-122 home win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Lakers put up 87 first-half points in a spectacular start as they bounced back from their loss to the Denver Nuggets with a big win against the Pelicans on Friday.
Austin Reaves had 27 points and LeBron James added 21 with 14 assists for the Lakers, who tied a franchise record with 51 points in the second quarter.
Russell scored 21 in the first half and all five starters had at least 12 while the Lakers hit 11 3-pointers and 67.4 percent of their overall shots.
Back in the lineup after missing the Nuggets loss through injury, Russell thinks there is much more to come from Los Angeles (28-26).
"The chemistry is definitely growing," Russell said to the Los Angeles Times.
"The trade deadline just ended, so guys are a little bit more comfortable. So, I think it’s only going to get better from here.
"With all the guys we have, it’s going to allow guys to step up when their names are called. It was a good job."
While the Lakers did not make any moves at the trade deadline, they do hope to add free agent Spencer Dinwiddie, who was waived by the Toronto Raptors after being traded from the Brooklyn Nets.
Dinwiddie attended the game and sat with general manager Rob Pelinka before visiting the Lakers’ locker room.
He is believed to be deciding between the Lakers and former team the Dallas Mavericks, who the guard visited with on Thursday.
James and Anthony Davis are optimistic about the prospect of Dinwiddie signing.
"Playmaking, another ball handler, another shot-maker, another guy, another veteran," LeBron said after being asked what Dinwiddie would bring.
"Anytime you can add a veteran with that ability, it helps. So we will see what happens."
Davis added: "Obviously, we have seen what he did with Brooklyn and what he did with Dallas making big plays for them. He is a well-established player."
There were 20 points from Davis despite being limited by foul trouble. He can feel a sense of relief among the Lakers squad after the trade deadline passed.
"I'm just glad the day is over," he said ahead of the game. "It can kind of make it a little wacky around the trade deadline time, guys hearing their names in rumors, and if this is going to happen, not going to happen.
"It can kind of weigh on guys. So, I'm just glad it is over. We are who we are and we have who we have.
"It is on us to figure out how we can get more wins and move up in the standings."
Los Angeles is ninth in the Western Conference, winning four times in five games before it hosts Detroit on Tuesday.
Zion Williamson had 30 points for the Pelicans (30-22) and Brandon Ingram contributed 22 against his former team as a four-game winning streak was snapped. New Orleans is at Portland on Saturday.
Kerr demands improvements from Team USA as Olympic opener looms
United States coach Steve Kerr wants to see higher levels of intensity from his team as their Olympics campaign approaches.
Kerr was unhappy with the lacklustre displays from his side in their warm-ups against Germany and South Sudan.
Germany led 71-68 at the end of the third quarter before LeBron James conjured up 11 points in the final four minutes to give the USA a 92-88 win, while South Sudan were 20 seconds away from pulling off one of the biggest shocks in basketball history, before eventually falling to a 101-100 loss.
The USA face a dangerous Serbia side featuring reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic on Sunday, and Kerr is adamant that improvements are required if they are to win a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
He said: "It's got to be 40 minutes of force and attention and focus, and we can't let teams outplay us effort and energy-wise like we did the other night against Germany, like we did against South Sudan.
“We have another level. I think we have another two levels that we can get to, but it's a collaboration, always.
"We can show them, 'Let's do this, let's do that. Let's learn personnel.'
"We got to know the shooters, know the non-shooters, all that stuff. So that's where we can help them. Where they can help themselves is just effort and energy play after play, after play. This is different."
Kerr is a four-time NBA champion as a coach, and was part of the triumphant Olympics team in Tokyo in 2021, but the Golden State Warriors boss knows the experience of the Games will only be enhanced if the USA were to come out on top again.
"This should be one of the great experiences of our lives. But the best way to make it an incredible experience is to win a gold medal," he said.
After facing Serbia, the USA will once again go up against South Sudan, this time in a competitive format, before ending the group stage with a match against Puerto Rico.
Durant warns Team USA 'everybody is a contender' in Olympic basketball tournament
Kevin Durant has warned Team USA they will not have an easy ride through the basketball tournament at the Paris Olympic Games, declaring: "Everybody is a contender".
The United States will go in search of a fifth straight men's basketball gold in the French capital, where they open their Group C campaign against Serbia on Sunday.
After that meeting with Nikola Jokic and company, the star-studded USA team featuring Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and a host of other NBA stars take on South Sudan and Puerto Rico.
With Steve Kerr having so much talent at his disposal, the roster has been compared to that of the 1992 'Dream Team', who took gold in Barcelona behind the efforts of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen and other great names.
However, at a press conference ahead of Team USA's 2024 opener, Curry reminded reporters that the class of 1992 only faced nine other active NBA players.
Durant is expecting a much tougher assignment this year, responding to Curry by saying: "Everybody is a contender. Everyone is here for a reason.
"We're playing against 65 or 64 NBA players in Paris. So you know they're the best in the world."
Asked to identify the main players to watch from other nations, the Phoenix Suns forward said: "Giannis [Antetokounmpo] or Jokic."
While Durant adopted a cautious tone, Golden State Warriors star Curry was more bullish regarding the USA's gold medal hopes.
Quizzed on who he was most excited about facing, Curry simply said: "Whoever's in the gold medal game."
Knicks, head coach Thibodeau agree to three-year contract extension
The New York Knicks and head coach Tom Thibodeau have agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season.
New York went 50-32 last season to earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference before losing to the Indiana Pacers in the semi-finals of the play-offs.
The Knicks were also ousted in the East semis in 2022-23 and reached the play-offs during Thibodeau’s first season in 2021-22, when he won his second NBA Coach of the Year award.
Prior to 2021-22, New York’s previous post-season appearance came in 2013.
The Knicks have gone 175-143 over the last four seasons under Thibodeau, who earned his first NBA Coach of the Year award in 2011 as a rookie head coach with the Chicago Bulls.
The 66-year-old Thibodeau owns a 527-389 record in 12 seasons as a head coach with Chicago, the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York.
His teams have gone 38-47 in the post-season, and Thibodeau’s only appearance in the conference finals came in his rookie head coach season.
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