NEW ORLEANS >> It took only 30 seconds for Lakers second-year guard D’Angelo Russell to drain a 3-pointer. It took only 46 seconds for Lakers rookie forward Brandon Ingram to sink a pull-up jumper.
If only it were that easy for two key pieces of the Lakers’ young core to develop into the finished product.
Russell and Ingram offered flashes of their scoring potential in the Rising Star Challenge, though it wasn’t enough as the World Team defeated the U.S. team, 150-141 on Friday at Smoothie King Center. Russell said he felt like a “veteran” despite posting worse numbers in his second year (12 points on 5-of-9 shooting and four assists in 19 minutes as a starter) than as a rookie (22 points on 9-of-15 shooting and seven assists in 17 minutes off the bench).