Austin Reaves thanked D’Angelo Russell for lost game winner vs Lakers

In their time as teammates, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell formed a bond that was very evident on and off the floor.

The pair excelled on the backcourt together in their two-plus seasons in LA, and that carried over to their friendship off the court, where they could be found on the golf course together.

Unfortunately, friendship wasn’t enough to keep the pair together, and Friday was the first time the two hit it off. In an almost storybook moment, D’Angelo Russell had a chance to win the game late, but his 3-pointer just missed, allowing the Lakers to escape with a win.

After the game, Reaves had the jokes when asked in his presser about the potential game-winner.

“Man, it looked good,” Reaves said. “Not good for us, but the ball looked good in the air. It wouldn’t have been in that position if I didn’t miss about four shots in a row, but I’ve seen him make that shot a million times. Max played good defense, but good defense can only take you so far sometimes, and like I said, I’ve seen them make that shot.

“Luckily it didn’t go in, so thanks.”

Thanking your friend for missing out on a game winner is how you know the friendship is real.

There would have been a fun irony in seeing D’Lo, who didn’t once celebrate with his patented “ice in my veins” celebration during his second stint with the Lakers, get a chance to hit the “ice in my veins” -the celebration in literally the first possible chance he could get in his return to the Crypto.com Arena.

For the content, I almost wish the shot had gone in. Almost.

Austin and D’Lo embraced after the match on the court. For all the complaints fans may have had about D’Lo and the flaws in his game, few players have the ability to catch fire and subsequently energize a crowd as quickly as he could.

Luckily on Friday, that didn’t include a game winner. And we all thank him for that.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.