On Tuesday night, Kobe Bryant sat on the bench in a suit, as the Los Angeles Lakers showcased their youth movement for their retiring superstar en route to a 107-98 victory over the Orlando Magic.
Starters D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle all scored over 20 points, and rookie Larry Nance Jr. approached a double-double off the bench in a feel good victory that gave LA only its third winning streak of the 2015-16 season.
"We have to continue to keep proving it," Russell said about the young players stepping up recently. "We believe in each other, we know what each other are capable of."
Randle collected his 28th double-double of the season in the win, as the 21-year-old finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds in an impressive victory, which continued the Lakers' positive play from Sunday's shock victory over the Golden State Warriors.
"It was important," Randle said about following up on the win over the Warriors. "We've got to show that we've grown, not just (be) satisfied with one game but come back the next game and play."
Against the Magic, Russell led LA in scoring with 27 points and also collected three assists and two rebounds. Since turning 20 years young, Russell is averaging 23.1 points and 4.7 assists over his past seven games. More than Randle and Clarkson, Russell has come to life late in the Lakers' season, and LA has won three of its last five games with the no. 2 pick of the 2015 NBA Draft playing an integral role.
The third member of the Lakers' young triumvirate, Clarkson, also played his part with 24 points, five rebounds and three assists in the victory. Clarkson has been the Lakers' steadiest player on the season and only trails Bryant in scoring average for the purple and gold, though Clarkson has appeared in more games than the 20-year professional.
Sports
Get today's sports news out of Los Angeles. Here's the latest on the Dodgers, Lakers, Angels, Kings, Galaxy, LAFC, USC, UCLA and more LA teams.
"We are just playing hard and competing," Clarkson said after the game. "We just want to come out here and get better every game and definitely win. We are trying to find a way to just put it all together and play well with each other."
Rookie Nance also continued to display commendable activity and nearly notched a double-double of his own. In only 20 minutes, Nance finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.
For the Magic, Victor Oladipo made 10 of his 17 field goal attempts and finished with 26 points and four rebounds in the loss.
Next, the Lakers host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night at Staples Center, and Bryant expects to do his best to make one final appearance against James. With the victory, the Lakers improved to 14-51.
Notes: Clarkson, Russell and Randle were the only three Lakers to finish in double figures in scoring. The Lakers scored 39 points in the third quarter, which was the highest scoring quarter of the season.
