Jerald Acoba hits half-court shot to win $95,000

LOS ANGELES — The shot banked off the backboard and into the basket. The player then pointed to his forearm say that he has “ice in his veins.”

Another game in which Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell made a clutch shot? Not exactly. The Lakers secured a 116-102 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday at Staples Center partly because Russell had 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from 3-point range, six assists and four rebounds.

Instead, it was 30-year-old Jerald Acoba, of Tulare, CA., who performed the celebration. He made a half-court shot between the third and fourth quarter to win $95,000. He then performed the gesture Russell often does when making a dramatic shot. Russell, Julius Randle and Nick Young promptly greeted him with high fives.

“That feels great,” Russell said. “It’s good to see a lot of kids and fans keeping that going, ‘Ice in the Veins,’ I appreciate everybody for that. That’s a lot of money. Take care of it.”

Aside from former Lakers center Vlade Divac, Acoba became the fifth winner to win the MGM Big Shot Jackpot since the Lakers started the promotion during the 2006-07 season. Acoba is also the second winner this season after Travis Milne, of Santa Maria, CA won $35,000 for hitting a half-court shot on Nov. 6, 2016 when the Lakers hosted the Phoenix Suns.

The jackpot grew with each missed shots since Milne’s basket, resulting in extra earnings for Acoba.


RELATED:

Lakers’ Timofey Mozgov pledges to be more physical

Lakers’ Luke Walton changes tactics in victory over Grizzlies

Lakers’ Luke Walton likes D’Angelo Russell’s progress since injury

Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and on Facebook. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com