With the Los Angeles Lakers embarking on a crucial six-game road trip, it is imperative to pick up as many wins as possible down this final stretch of the regular season. L.A. was able to steal one in the opener in Milwaukee, defeating the Bucks in double overtime without LeBron James and then had to take on the Memphis Grizzlies without Anthony Davis on the second night of a back-to-back.
Thankfully, James made his return to the lineup and had to return the favor to his co-star by carrying a heavy load to get the Lakers a win. While Memphis is a worse team than the Bucks, Davis’ absence was felt by having no deterrent at the rim, but the 39-year-old did a little bit of everything, putting up 23 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists on 8-for-14 from the field.
It seemed apparent that a day off helped James as he played with a bounce in his step and the future Hall of Famer was asked if there was extra focus from him after missing Monday’s game knowing the Lakers had to validate that win by beating the Grizzlies, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Nah, I mean, it’s just read and react to the game, see how the defense is playing and seeing the rhythm of my guys. It was good to be back out there with them and be able to do a lot of things tonight to help us win.”
Playing two games in less than 24 hours is no easy task, especially following a double overtime game that featured key players playing upwards of 40 or 50 minutes. James credits his teammates for giving it their all on a back-to-back despite playing a ton of minutes on Monday:
“Obviously a lot of energy was used last night to come back and in overtime. For the guys that played heavy minutes last night, AR, Rui, TP, DLo and those guys, Spence, for them to come back with energy tonight, or give as much as they had, whatever was left in the tank, was great for us to get this win tonight. We needed it.”
L.A. was lucky to play a depleted Memphis team, but they made the purple and gold work for it by cutting their 27-point lead all the way down to seven in the fourth quarter. Regardless, the Lakers take any win they can at this point and put themselves in a position to go 6-0 or 5-1 on this road trip.
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