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.

Russell of course is a two-time member of both the Lakers and the Nets, and was making his first return to Los Angeles since the team dealt him to Brooklyn last month. After missing the game winner, Russell took to X with a cryptic message that had Nets fans buzzing. “Muted emotion,” wrote Russell in his post.