Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — D’Angelo Russell took no public pleasure in playing a pretty big role in officially eliminating the Los Angeles Lakers from playoff contention for yet another season. Russell is much more excited about the increasing likelihood that he’s about to make his postseason debut with the Brooklyn Nets. Joe Harris hit six 3-pointers while scoring 26 points, and Russell added 21 points and 13 assists against his former team in the Nets’ 111-106 win over the Lakers on Friday night. Russell had seven points and three assists in the fourth quarter while Brooklyn held on to beat the Lakers, who drafted Russell in 2015 and traded him in 2017. He hit two big 3-pointers down the stretch, and he raised his finger to his lips to shush his former fans in the Staples Center crowd. But Russell said it was nothing personal, and he didn’t think much about putting the final nail in the Lakers’ playoff hopes. "Sounds good on paper, but at the end of the day, we’re not playing them," Russell said. "We’re not competing against them for seeding, so the win is good enough." Los Angeles (31-41) will miss the playoffs for a franchise-record sixth straight season even with LeBron James, who fell just short of his 81st career triple-double with 25 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds. "It’s been a tough season for all of us," James said. "It’s not what we signed up for. Throughout the year, things happen. Suspensions, injuries, and us just not being able to play sustainable basketball for 48 minutes. You don’t even try to wrap your head around it. You just keep playing and try to get better and go from there." The Nets needed another big game from Russell, who scored 27 of his 44 points in the fourth quarter of a thrilling win over the Kings three nights earlier. That stunning effort in Sacramento was the latest highlight of a breakout season for LA’s former No. 2 overall pick. GET MORE NBA:Exclusive content with our Click & Roll newsletter STRETCH RUN:Keep your eye on NBA version of March Madness PROSPECT WATCH:Top college players to watch not named Zion Russell was well-liked by Lakers fans — but not by Magic Johnson, who dumped Russell in a trade to get rid of Timofey Mozgov’s onerous contract just a few months after the Hall of Famer took over the Lakers’ basketball operations. "This is definitely where I started," said Russell, who has previously acknowledged being irked by Magic’s parting comments about his leadership. "It’s definitely a place that gave me an opportunity. Not many guys started somewhere and then that was forgotten throughout their career. You know, Chauncey Billups, the (Steve) Nashes of that group, so I’m trying to consider myself one of those guys." Russell has grown into an All-Star in Brooklyn, while the Lakers have stayed in largely the same place in the standings despite adding James last summer. JaVale McGee had career highs of 33 points and 20 rebounds along with six blocked shots for the Lakers, who have lost five straight and 10 of 11. After 23 lead changes, the Lakers got within three points in the final minute, but James committed a turnover and missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds. TIP-INS: Nets — Allen Crabbe missed his fourth straight game with a sore right knee. Lakers — Tyson Chandler got his first game action since March 2. … Kuzma hit a 3-pointer from half-court to beat the shot clock in the first quarter. NETS RISING: Spencer Dinwiddie added 19 points in his hometown as the Nets (38-36) bolstered their playoff chances with their second straight win after an 0-3 start to this seven-game road trip. Brooklyn is seventh in the Eastern Conference standings, a half-game behind sixth-place Detroit and 2 ½ games ahead of ninth-place Orlando. STAYING HOME: The Lakers will miss for the sixth consecutive season, easily the longest streak in the 16-time NBA champion franchise’s history. The Lakers had only missed the playoffs five times in their first 55 seasons of existence before this current drought. With 10 games left in the season, the Lakers already know they’re staying home again for the playoffs, even after adding James to the roster last July. James has played in the last eight consecutive NBA Finals, but he will miss the postseason for the first time since 2005, his second pro season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. JAVALE’S BEST: McGee, the veteran big man with two championship rings from Golden State, had the biggest offensive game of his 11-year NBA career. He went 15-of-20 from the field, repeatedly converting in the paint on 10 assists from James. UP NEXT: Nets at Trail Blazers on Monday night. Lakers host Kings on Sunday night.<doc-sep>LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will not be in the NBA playoffs. It’s official. The four-time MVP has missed out on playoff basketball for the first time since the 2004-2005 season, as the Lakers fell 111-106 to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday (AEDT). Los Angeles needed a win to maintain a mathematical chance at making the top-8 in the Western Conference, but couldn’t get the job done. Live stream the 2018/19 NBA with ESPN on KAYO SPORTS. Average of 7 LIVE Regular Season games per week plus NBA Playoffs and the Finals LIVE. Get your 14 day free trial > And it was the man they traded away in 2017 that inflicted the most damage as All-Star D’Angelo Russell dropped 21 points and 13 assists against his former team. Joe Harris added 26 on 6-for-8 shooting from deep, while Spencer Dinwiddie put up 19 off the bench for the 38-36 Nets. James had 25 points, 14 assists, and nine rebounds on a cold shooting night as the Lakers relied on JaVale McGee, who had 33 points and 20 boards, to keep them in the game. In his first season in the West, James has battled with injuries — both his own and his teammates’ — and will miss out on the playoffs for the first time since his sophomore year in the league. The Lakers (31-41), who found no real consistency in 2019, will miss the playoffs for a franchise-record sixth straight season. NO ONE CAN STOP JAMES HARDEN James Harden matched his career high with 61 points, including 27 in the first quarter, to lead the Houston Rockets to a 111-105 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Harden hit three straight 3-pointers to give the Rockets a 103-100 lead and scored all of Houston’s points in a 13-2 run late in the fourth quarter. Harden topped the 50-point mark for the eighth time this season, compared with 10 such performances from the rest of the league combined. He matched his career-best total set earlier this season against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The NBA’s leading scorer surpassed the 30-point mark in the second quarter and the 40-point mark with 9 minutes remaining in the third. Bryn Forbes led San Antonio with 20 points, while Derrick White added 18 and DeMar DeRozan had 16. “I work every single day to be the best I can be,” Harden said. “I got a chance to be one of the best players to ever touch a basketball. As a kid that’s what you dream about.” GEORGE AND WESTBROOK COMBINE TO DOWN TORONTO Paul George scored 28 points, Russell Westbrook had 18 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds, and Oklahoma City beat Toronto. Dennis Schroder came off the bench to score 26 points and Jerami Grant had 19 as the Thunder snapped a four-game losing streak and avenged Thursday’s (AEDT) 123-114 home defeat to Toronto. The Thunder made 20 of 43 shots from 3-point range. Oklahoma City made a season- high 22 3-pointers against the Lakers on Jan. 17. Kawhi Leonard scored 37 points and Pascal Siakam had 25 for the Raptors, who played without All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry. NBA SCORES MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 119 — 123 ORLANDO MAGIC (OT) LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 110 — 108 CLEVELAND CAVALIERS DENVER NUGGETS 111 — 93 NEW YORK KNICKS OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 116 — 109 TORONTO RAPTORS SAN ANTONIO SPURS 105 — 111 HOUSTON ROCKETS MIAMI HEAT 87 — 116 MILWAUKEE BUCKS BROOKLYN NETS 111 — 106 LOS ANGELES LAKERS<doc-sep>It was a slow death, but the Los Angeles Lakers are finally officially eliminated from playoff contention following a 111-106 loss to D’Angelo Russell and the Brooklyn Nets Friday at Staples Center. The Lakers struggled to get any of their shots to fall, especially from behind the arc where they shot a lowly 25 percent (9-36), but they managed to stick around long enough to make the game interesting in spite of that thanks to a career night from JaVale McGee. In 34 minutes against the Nets, McGee scored a career-high 33 points on a crazy 75 percent shooting from the field to go along with a season-high 20 rebounds and six blocks. McGee joins an elite list of Lakers to put up at least 33 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks in a game. List of Los Angeles Lakers to have 33+ points, 18+ rebounds, 5+ blocks in a game: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (x9) Shaquille O'Neal (x5) JaVale McGee — Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) March 23, 2019 LeBron James also did whatever he could to make sure the Lakers didn’t go quietly into their goodnight, tallying 25 points, 14 assists and 9 rebounds. However, he struggled to knock down shots with any consistency, going 8-25 from the field. He also hard a time taking care of the ball, turning it over seven times. Of course, a playoff-hope-crushing loss to the Nets wouldn’t be the same without a monster fourth quarter from D’Angelo Russell. He ended the night 21 points on 8-20 shooting from the field and 13 assists. He was no JaVale McGee, but he was still very good for someone that isn’t a leader. The Lakers will be back at it on Sunday to take on the Sacramento Kings at Staples Center. It just officially won’t mean anything now. Can we sim to July? For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Christian on Twitter at @RadRivas.<doc-sep>
With the Lakers’ season officially on the line, JaVale McGee had the night of his life. The 7-footer never let up, pouring in 33 points and 20 rebounds — both career-highs — plus six blocks. But even McGee’s monster performance couldn’t stave off elimination, as Brooklyn pulled out a 111-106 win, putting an end to the Lakers’ playoff chances. McGee’s dominance was on the level of legends, as he joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (seven times) and Shaquille O’Neal as the only players in franchise history to ever record a 30/20/5 game. The 11-year veteran was feeling it from the start, scoring all of the Lakers’ first 10 points. And he continued that efficiency by shooting 15-of-20 from the field — largely off cuts to the hoop and put-backs — while throwing down six dunks. McGee also fed off of playmaking from LeBron James, who constantly drew the defense’s attention before feeding the big man. “I feel like everybody was focused on LeBron, and he was really setting it up for me to be successful out there,” McGee said. “Also, I was going to the offensive rebounds really hard today, and it just worked out for me. But unfortunately we didn’t win the game. James put up 25 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds, with 10 of his dimes going to McGee. But it was a tough night for LeBron’s individual offense, as he shot just 8-of-25 from the field and committed eight turnovers. His costliest giveaway came with the Lakers trailing by three with 23 seconds left, when James attempted to drive but instead slipped as the ball fell out of bounds. Hence Brooklyn (38-36) was able to finish off a back-and-forth game that included 23 lead changes and 16 ties. NBA 3-point leader Joe Harris led the Nets with 26 points and six triples, while former Laker D’Angelo Russell hung up 21 points and 13 assists. The Lakers (31-41), meanwhile, fell for the 10th time in their last 11 games. They once again played with most of their young core inactive, as Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart all continued to attend to lingering injuries. “Obviously it’s been a tough season for us,” LeBron said. “It’s not what we signed up for. But throughout the year, things happen — suspensions, injuries, things of that nature — and us just not being able to play sustainable basketball for 48 minutes. “You don’t even try to wrap your head around it. You keep pushing, see how you can get better tonight, move on to tomorrow and go from there. Like I said, the playoffs are never promised. You have to come out and work.” Kuz from half court is our @budweiserusa Moment of the Week pic.twitter.com/EBVh4WEt4A — Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 23, 2019