D'Angelo Russell keeps Lakers rolling, goes for 28 in return

LOS ANGELES — It wouldn't be a stretch to describe D'Angelo Russell's return to the lineup in the Lakers' 122-112 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday as perfect.

Russell, who missed L.A.'s previous six games with a sprained right ankle, scored 16 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter — on 5-for-5 shooting — to seal the victory, helping keep the Lakers' momentum strong. The Lakers are now 6-2 since the All-Star break and No. 9 in the Western Conference standings with 15 games remaining. They are only 1½ games behind the LA Clippers in fifth.

«I was just flowing, honestly,» Russell said after the game, finishing 10-for-17 from the field with nine assists and five rebounds. «Obviously this is my first game back and just itching to get back on the floor, so to get back out there and perform and be back out there with those guys, they were playing at a high level, and to be able to contribute to that was just fun.

»I couldn't help but smile."

Russell keyed a dominant 37-22 fourth quarter by L.A. to run away with the win on a night the Lakers fell down by as many as 15 points in the first half.

«He's just super talented,» Austin Reaves, whose 18 points contributed to a 61-12 edge for the Lakers in bench points, said of Russell. «The shots he was hitting in the fourth, it was ridiculous. You got only a handful of guys that take those shots in that situation. So, shout-out to him. Good to have him back. We're looking to keep it rolling.»

From about the 8:00 mark in the fourth to about the 3:30 mark, Russell stroked four 3-pointers, each one growing the Lakers' lead and throwing the crowd into a tizzy.

Several of them came during transition opportunities for the Lakers when his team had numbers and would have had the