Randle notches 2nd career triple-double as Lakers down Nets

The Los Angeles Lakers won their seventh game of the season on Tuesday night, knocking off the scrappy Brooklyn Nets 125-118.

It's mid-November. Last season, the Lakers didn't collect their seventh win until New Year's Day. That win improved their record to 7-27. Their win over the Nets put them at 7-5. It may not be sustainable, but it certainly seems as though the Lakers have turned a page.

As encouraging as the win itself were the rising young stars who did the damage, yet again. Fleet-footed sophomore power forward Julius Randle continued to flash his advanced passing chops, handing out a ridiculous seven assists in the first eight minutes of the game.

Though he didn't keep up that pace, Randle continued to burn the Nets' slower bigs, getting into the lane and earning a game-high 10 trips to the free-throw line, while also doing yeoman's work on the glass. He finished with 17 points, 10 assists, and a game-high 14 rebounds for his second career triple-double.

"He's a bull coming down the lane," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said of Randle after the game.

Meanwhile, second-year point guard D'Angelo Russell bounced back from a miserable outing against the Minnesota Timberwolves to produce one of the best games of his career. He got off to a blistering start, nailing five 3-pointers in the first quarter (converting a bunch of Randle feeds into dimes), and never looked back. He finished with 32 points on 11-of-20 shooting (7-of-13 from deep), along with eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

"My man D-Lo went crazy in the first quarter," Randle said. "He made it easy on me. When our guys get hot like that it’s just: find them, feed them."

Whether the Lakers' start is reality or mirage, it's becoming clearer that they have a foundation worth building around.