Notorious B.I.G.’s “Get Money” played in the Lakers’ locker room during a mild celebration as D’Angelo Russell finished getting dressed in the corner.

As composed and composed as the Lakers have been on the court, the point guard was animated during the team’s 123-109 victory in the in-season tournament final, yelling at Bruce Brown of the Pacers.

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After the wing committed two quick fouls while guarding Brown, Russell raised two fingers in the air in his direction. Additionally, Russell displayed unusually strong emotions when he repeatedly yelled at the bench after scoring in the first quarter.

“He was talking s— all year. Yeah. Talking s— all year. For me, it was just showing it with my play. I don’t have nothing to say to him. I’m a fan of him to be honest,” Russell told The Times. “This was just all on the court. Got something to say? Show me on the court. [Nikola] Jokic ain’t there next to you today. It’s different.”

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After Game 1 of last season’s Western Conference finals, Brown, then with Denver, said the Nuggets attacked Russell on the defensive end with the goal of playing him off the court.

“He’s not the best defender,” Brown told reporters last spring, “but he definitely tries.”

Despite the Lakers winning their seven tournament games by a combined score of 132 points, Russell stated after the team won the inaugural NBA Cup that he didn’t think their undefeated run fully validated the team’s championship aspirations.

“The losing throughout the year to good teams is what gets you ready,” Russell said. “If you beat teams that aren’t really giving you adversity throughout the game, you don’t really get better. You just beat up on them. [The Philadelphia 76ers game], overtime games, down 20, we need adversity. We’re a good team so we need adversity throughout our time.”

Still, the Lakers and Russell know the recipe.

“I think the biggest thing in the league right now that’s winning games is continuity to your offense and the versatility on defense,” he said. “I think we’re versatile, but we’re still working on our offense. That’s going to be the big thing for us.”