On his 36th birthday, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James continued to defy the odds as he showed why he remains arguably the best player in the NBA today.
James finished with 26 points, eight assists and five rebounds as the Lakers bounced back from a disappointing loss with a 121-107 victory over the San Antonio Spurs to improve their record to 3-2.
James also reached a major milestone on the night, scoring in double-figures for the 1,000th consecutive game. It’s 100 games more than the second-best streak in NBA history, which was produced by none other than Michael Jordan.
The Lakers started off slow and were down 9-2 early, but immediately responded with a run to take the lead which they never let go. Unfortunately for the Lakers while they were comfortably ahead for most of the night, they were unable to completely put the game away as the Spurs continually fought back to stay within striking range.
Anthony Davis was much more aggressive in his second game back after missing a contest with a calf injury, finishing with 20 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Dennis Schroder continued his strong start to the season with 21 points, four rebounds and four assists.
But the biggest boost for the Lakers came from another one of their newcomers. Wesley Matthews had his best game with the team as he was a perfect 6-for-6 from 3-point range. After struggling for his first few games, the Lakers and Matthews were surely happy to see him get going.
Offensively, the Lakers were clicking as they shot 56.1% from the field and 53.8% from 3-point range, but it was their turnovers and defense that made the game much tougher than it needed to be against a short-handed team.
The Spurs were without All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge, but the Lakers gave them a number of easy looks around the basket. Their 17 turnovers played into the Spurs’ desire to up the tempo. Dejounte Murray had a career-high 29 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists. DeMar DeRozan added 23 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope continued to be a consistent performer, knocking down a pair of 3s on his way to 10 points, while Montrezl Harrell nearly notched a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Next up for the Lakers
The Lakers will remain in San Antonio for a rematch with the Spurs before heading to Memphis for a pair of road games against the Grizzlies.
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