OKLAHOMA CITY — In Ziaire Williams, the rebuilding Nets took a flier on a former lottery pick as a salary dump. He’s an athletic floor-running defender whose jumper has been his weakness. But if he can keep shooting the way he has lately, their gamble might come good.

Here are three Brooklyn Nets takeaways from Friday's 102-101 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers in D'Angelo Russell's return to Los Angeles.

For Lakers rookie Bronny James, the game was extra special as he got reunited with Nets forward Ziaire Williams, his former teammate at Sierra Canyon School in Los Angeles. After the matchup, James and Williams exchanged jerseys and posed for a picture. The Lakers guard posted it on his Instagram story.

Despite a close miss by D'Angelo Russell, the Nets lost to the Lakers 102-101 in what was supposed to be a revenge game for Russell, who had 19 points, six rebounds, and eight assists off the bench. Ziaire Williams had 15 points and Tosan Evbuomwan had 15 points and six rebounds off the bench to continue his impressive stretch for Brooklyn after being one of the team's recent Two-Way signings.

Austin Reaves scored a career-high 38 points, LeBron James added 29 points with eight assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame the absence of Anthony Davis to earn a 102-101 victory over the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Friday.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers were both the professional home for Williams at one point or another. The Lakers were his team for one full season before being dealt at the trade ...

The Los Angeles Clippers have ... but they could target Patrick Williams from the Chicago Bulls to upgrade their frontcourt depth. In a possible trade, the Clippers could send P.J. Tucker, Bones ...

Los Angeles hosts ... the Clippers are 1.5 games ahead of the Lakers in the standings and beat them on Sunday, 116-102. Three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams played three and a half ...

Despite this, the Clippers have dominated the matchups recently, winning 13 of the last 16, and swept the series for three consecutive seasons in 2020-23. Nov 1, 2023; Los Angeles, California ...

The better he gets on that end, the easier it’ll be for New Orleans to reclaim the defensive identity that’s slipped away during this injury-riddled season. As always, the most important aspect of Williamson’s maturation is consistency and health. The better he is in those two areas, the quicker he can prove his two-way dominance is here to stay.

LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard made his season debut for the Los Angeles Clippers in Saturday night's 131-105 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at the Intuit Dome. Leonard gained confidence from the ...

Kawhi Leonard is back, and even though he's still rounding into form, his return has been transformative for the Los Angeles Clippers. It's been a small sample size, but early signs indicate the presence of the two-time Finals MVP entrenches the team among the Western Conference elites.