The Los Angeles Lakers got embarrassed on the second leg of their four-game road trip when they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers by 44 points. It was one of the worst losses in Lakers history and the team knew they needed a big win to get the bad taste out of their mouths.
Luckily, they did just that as they ran through the Detroit Pistons to get back in the win column and improve their record to 11-8.
D’Angelo Russell has been a consistent source of offense for Los Angeles so far during the 2023-24 season but he exploded against a Detroit squad. Russell got it going from the opening tip as he knocked down his first six shots of the night to get the Lakers a lead they ended up never relinquishing.
All throughout the evening, Russell found little resistance gettin to his spots and was a flamethrower from downtown. Russell scored a season-high 35 points on 14-of-19 shooting including 5-of-7 from distance. He also had time to add four rebounds, nine assists, one steal and three blocks.
Anthony Davis predictably dominated Detroit’s front court tandem of Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart as he forced the issue inside for several layups and dunks. Defensively, Davis was his usual self protecting the rim and discouraging plenty of shots.
Davis was able to rest the entire fourth quarter, but he still produced a double-double of 28 points and 16 rebounds to go along with four assists, one steal and three blocks.
Like Davis, LeBron James was a menace as he muscled his way to the cup on numerous occasions and even showed off how athletic he still is with some impressive dunks. James made sure his night ended early as he went on a quick scoring binge to begin the fourth quarter, allowing Darvin Ham to call time out and pull him from the game.
With Russell, Davis and James carrying the bulk of the scoring load the rest of the team wasn’t asked to do much. However, it was good to see Jalen Hood-Schifino get minutes in the blow out and he made the most of his minutes by scoring 10 points.
What’s next for Lakers
Los Angeles doesn’t get to rest as they head to Oklahoma City Thunder to close out their back-to-back set. However, the Lakers will then return home to play the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
Afterwards, L.A. will host the quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament against the Phoenix Suns next Tuesday.
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