The Los Angeles Lakers earned a win over the San Antonio Spurs for the second straight day on Saturday, scoring a season-high 143 points.
L.A. did so without Anthony Davis, who sat out with a left calf contusion. Davis has been carrying the Lakers over the last couple weeks, so it was up to others to step up in his absence to earn the victory, and they did just that.
As is normally the case, LeBron James led the way for the Lakers with a season-high 39 points to go along with 11 rebounds and three assists, James has been struggling to make jump shots early this season but that was not the case in this one as he was 7-of-10 from deep and 10-of-10 at the free throw line.
James’ biggest highlights of the night came in the paint though as he threw a lob to Russell Westbrook, who threw a lob right back to LeBron for a dunk in transition.
Although Westbrook shot just 4-of-12 from the field, he played a solid overall game for L.A. with 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists. That was despite getting hit in the face by Zach Collins late in the third quarter. Westbrook took exception to the hit and charged at Collins as blood poured down his face although tempers eventually cooled and the point guard was able to return after momentarily going back to the locker room.
The Lakers’ starting backcourt of Dennis Schroder and Lonnie Walker IV both chipped in offensively with 21 and 19 points, respectively. They combined to shoot 6-for-9 from deep.
L.A.’s bench also did its part as Austin Reaves had 16 points on a near-perfect 6-of-7 shooting and Wenyen Gabriel had a season-high 15 points with three rebounds and two blocks.
The young Spurs deserve some credit for how they played in this one as they kept fighting, not allowing the Lakers to put the game out of reach. Their 138 points were also a season-high after shooting 18-for-37 (48.6%) from deep.
Up next for Lakers…
After a 2-1 road trip, the Lakers now return home where they will host the Indiana Pacers on Monday night and Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night before heading out on a six-game road trip.
While Davis missed Saturday night’s game against the Spurs, he is expected to return to action on Monday.
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