Anthony Davis only took five shots. LeBron James only made five shots. But Malik Beasley and Austin Reaves made it so that didn’t even matter for the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
Beasley led the way with 25 points while Reaves added 17 off the bench and eight Lakers scored in double-figures in their 124-111 victory over the Golden State Warriors in their first game after the All-Star break. The win was the second straight for the Lakers and third in their last four games.
Beasley got things started with eight early points and never let up, knocking down 9-of-13 shots overall and 7-of-11 from 3-point range. Reaves meanwhile, didn’t miss a single shot all night, hitting all six attempts from the field and all four of his free throws while really sparking the third-quarter run that allowed the Lakers to put things away for good.
Davis finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds and a pair of blocks on the night. Though he didn’t take a bunch of shots, Davis was very important with his work on the glass and the defensive end. LeBron shot just 5-of-20 but added nine rebounds and eight assists to go along with his 13 points. This was LeBron’s first game under 20 points since Nov. 4.
The lone negative coming out of this game for the Lakers was the injury suffered by point guard D’Angelo Russell. While stepping back to take the ball out, Russell stepped on the foot of Warriors guard Donte DiVincenzo and turned his right ankle. He would not return but X-rays were negative and he is being listed as day-to-day.
But others stepped up in Russell’s absence with Dennis Schroder contributing 13 points and six assists while Rui Hachimura also added 14 points for a Lakers bench that contributed 68 points. After leading by double-digits for much of the first half, the Lakers let up down the stretch of the first half, leading by just three. But they would kick things into gear in the third quarter and cruise comfortably for most of the second half
Overall the Lakers shot 48.8 percent from the field and hit 16 three-pointers while holding Golden State to just 38.1 percent shooting and 28.6 percent from deep. The Lakers also out-rebounded the Warriors by 10, had 30 assists on their 42 made baskets and outscored the Warriors 29-to-8 in transition.
The Warriors were led by Klay Thompson’s 22 points while Ty Jerome added 20 points off the bench.
Next up for the Lakers
The Lakers kick off a three-game road trip with a Sunday matinee against the Dallas Mavericks before a back-to-back on Tuesday and Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder.
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