After the Los Angeles Lakers traded Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to the Nets last month in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton, he dropped 22 points off the bench in his season debut with Brooklyn in a 130-113 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 1.

Despite a close miss by D'Angelo Russell, the Nets lost to the Lakers 102-101 in what was supposed to be a revenge game for Russell, who had 19 points, six rebounds, and eight assists off the bench. Ziaire Williams had 15 points and Tosan Evbuomwan had 15 points and six rebounds off the bench to continue his impressive stretch for Brooklyn after being one of the team's recent Two-Way signings.