Unfortunately for the Nets, even the presence of Russell was not enough to prevent the team from enduring a 130-113 loss to the Raptors. Russell had 22 points and eight assists in his debut (second stint) with the franchise while Cam Johnson had 24 points and three assists.

Cam Johnson led the Nets with 24. Russell was stellar with no real practice time, while starting point guard Ben Simmons was a team-worst minus-18. Scottie Barnes had 33 points, and Toronto dominated inside late, aided by an injury to Nets starting power forward Noah Clowney.

Russell, who was drafted second overall by the Lakers in 2015, was traded to Brooklyn by the LA franchise in 2017. He was sent to the Nets along with Timofey Mozgov in exchange for Brook Lopez and the rights to Kyle Kuzma, who was taken 27th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft.