D'Angelo Russell stats tonight: Nets guard tallies double-double in rivalry clash vs Knicks (Jan. 21)

D'Angelo Russell made his fourth start for the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night after being traded from the LA Lakers in December, facing off against the New York Knicks, their cross-town rivals. Despite posting a double-double, the Nets fell short, with the Knicks claiming a 99-95 victory.

With Cam Thomas, De'Anthony Melton and Ben Simmons all sidelined, the Nets relied on Russell as a starter to help snap their three-game losing streak.

Russell contributed five points in the first quarter, trailing only Cam Johnson’s seven, as Brooklyn won the opening period 26-24.

The Knicks, however, regained momentum in the second quarter, outscoring the Nets 35-25. Russell was active during this stretch, hitting a 3-pointer and assisting Noah Clowney on a dunk after re-entering the game.

He added four more points from the free-throw line and recorded three more assists, but the Knicks, led by Karl-Anthony Towns’ 14 points and Mikal Bridges’ 10, held a 59-51 lead at halftime.

By the end of the first half, D'Angelo Russell had posted 12 points and six assists.

In the second half, he hit three more triples as the Nets stayed competitive late, but they were unable to capitalize offensively, extending their losing streak to four games.

Here are his complete stats.

PLAYER	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	FGM	FGA	FG%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	OREB	DREB	STL	BLK	TO	PF	=+/-
D'Angelo Russell	31:28	23	2	10	6	17	35.3	4	11	36.4	7	7	100	0	2	1	3	3	5	5

Austin Reaves reflects on D'Angelo Russell's influence

The LA Lakers traded a package involving D'Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton. This trade opened up more guard minutes for the Lakers, allowing Austin Reaves to take on a bigger offensive role while adding shooting and size to the wing.

As the Nets visited Crypto.com Arena on Friday, Reaves spoke about the impact his former teammate had on him.

“DLo really helped me with that when he got here, with him being through that, being drafted here, being a young player,” Reaves said (per LakersNation).

"He’s seen everything that I had been through or I was going through. So when he got here, he really taught me how to, not that the noise was affecting me, but to really just push that aside and worry about the betterment of the team, how I can continue to grow and be better.”

Russell is back with the Nets for his second stint, having previously played for Brooklyn from 2017 to 2019.