Skip to main content

Lakers: Darvin Ham Unpacks The Sequence That Helped LA Beat NY In OT

Brodie and AD have found a rhythm.

Last night, your Los Angeles Lakers had their share of hiccups on the road against a good New York Knicks team. When the game hit overtime, however, LA tightened things up, and relied on one particular play action, repeated multiple times, to help them secure an eventual 129-121 win.

"I mean, just him having a smaller guy on him, him being able to get low -- that's a hard pick-and-roll action to navigate, especially that area of the floor," Ham said. "[It] forces you to make a tough decision: whether you're going to concentrate on the ball [or the roller]."

"Having 'Bron up top we knew if nothing materialized out of the two-man game we could easily kick it ahead for a quick drive or a shot," Ham noted. "And we just went with that, took our time, used the clock properly and executed. He was in a great rhythm tonight and it was beautiful to see.

This side pick-and-roll set with Westbrook and Davis helped LA create (and often convert) excellent takes during the overtime frame. Westbrook found Davis beneath the rack three times off this action, and Davis finished in two of those scenarios.

In 36:13 off the bench, Westbrook finished with 17 points while shooting 7-of-13 from the floor (and 2-of-5 from the charity stripe, but let's not dwell on that), eight assists, six rebounds and three steals. Davis had 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting, nine rebounds, two steals and an assist.