Lakers' D'Angelo Russell out vs. Thunder due to sore hip

ByDave McMenamin ESPN logo
Saturday, March 25, 2023

LOS ANGELES -- Lakers point guard D'Angelo Russell did not play in the team's 116-111 win against theOklahoma City Thunder on Friday night because of a sore right hip.

"He was evaluated today, has a little something going on with his hip, so it's best that we hold him out tonight," coach Darvin Ham said.

Ham said Russell aggravated his hip against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday amid a brilliant performance in which he scored 26 points on 9-for-13 shooting with six assists in 34 minutes. Ham said Russell will be day-to-day moving forward. The Lakers' next game is Sunday, at home against the Chicago Bulls.

Friday was Russell's seventh missed game since he joined the Lakers following a trade deadline deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He's averaged 18.6 points on 47.1% shooting (39.5% from 3) and 6.4 assists in the 11 games since the deal, with the Lakers going 7-4.

Dennis Schroder, who scored 26 points in a win in Oklahoma City the last time these teams played March 1, started in Russell's place and had 21 points and six assists.

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was listed as questionable with an abdominal strain, did play, scoring 27 points in the loss.