Lakers News: Highlights From A 143-138 L.A. Victory Over The Spurs
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With Anthony Davis sidelined, your Los Angeles Lakers had a bit more trouble against the San Antonio Spurs tonight than they did Friday, but wound up ultimately nabbing a close victory, 143-138. L.A. moved to a semi-respectable 7-11 record on the season, while San Antonio fell to 6-15.
Head coach Darvin Ham opted to start Thomas Bryant in the place of Davis, and Dennis Schröder in the place of suspended starting point guard Patrick Beverley.
The two clubs traded buckets throughout the first quarter. The Spurs led after the first quarter, 34-33.
Reserve power forward/center Wenyen Gabriel showed off some two-way ability with this steal and buzzer-beating trey at the end of the first period.
In a lucky break for the Lakers, Jakob Poeltl injured his right quad on a running dunk, per Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register, and was ruled out for the rest of the night. With Anthony Davis out of the lineup, Poeltl had been feasting. He had 12 points and nine rebounds when he departed, with 7:51 remaining in the second quarter and the Spurs leading 49-41.
The substitution of Zach Collins for Poeltl allowed Los Angeles to go on a 15-6 run. We got to see some nice two-way play out of LeBron James and Russell Westbrook:
At the halftime break, the Lakers led the Spurs by a smidge, 70-68. James and Schröder were L.A.'s primary scorers, with 16 points apiece through two quarters.
Late in the third quarter, Zach Collins hacked Russell Westbrook while the latter reserve was struggling to secure a rebound. After video review, the foul was deemed a Flagrant 2 and Collins was ejected. Westbrook was bleeding from his forehead after the play.
LeBron James took on the majority of the Lakers' scoring burden with Anthony Davis sidelined. He would finish with a season-most 39 points on 11-of-21 shooting (including 7-of-12 from deep) from the floor and a perfect 10-of-10 shooting from the free throw line, 11 rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.
Here's his final triple of the night, recorded in a fairly back-and-forth fourth quarter:
James was one of five Lakers to score in double figures, along with Schröder (21) Lonnie Walker IV (19), Austin Reaves (16), Wenyen Gabriel (15), and Russell Westbrook (11).
Next up for Los Angeles: a home game at Crypto.com Arena Monday, where the team will play the frisky Indiana Pacers.
