D’Angelo Russell led Timberwolves to NBA playoffs
Former Ohio State Guard D’Angelo Russell led the Minnesota Timberwolves To the NBA Playoffs Tuesday to proceed against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.
The Minnesota Timberwolves proved they belonged in the playoffs after Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell combined for 59 points on Tuesday night to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers 109-104 in a play-in game.
Russell, who scored 29 points that included a go-ahead three-pointer, also had six assists and five rebounds to send Minnesota to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference for a first-round matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies, which starts Saturday at 3:30 pm ET.
The former Ohio State guard averaged 18.1 points, 7.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 65 games with the wolves this season. He’s in his eighth year in the NBA, after being picked by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2015 with the No. 2 overall pick.
D’Angelo Russell upping the stats
That’s an improvement from his career averages of 17.7 points, 5.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds during 424 regular season games, that included stretches with the Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors.
During his full NBA career, Russell has only appeared in one playoff series, when the Nets took on the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2019 playoffs. He then averaged 19.4 points, 3.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game, but Brooklyn lost in five games.
The Timberwolves vs. Grizzlies kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 16.