The Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers combined for 295 points on Sunday night, with the former pulling out a 150-145 victory in L.A. before heading out on the road for a six-game trip. LeBron James was one of four Lakers and six total players to put up at least 20 points. The 150 points scored is the most in a game by the Lakers since 1987, the height of the Showtime era.
The Lakers were led by Anthony Davis, who finished with 36 points and 16 rebounds in a dominant effort. James had 26 points and 10 assists, while Spencer Dinwiddie and Austin Reaves added 26 and 25 points of their own, respectively. On the Pacers side, Pascal Siakam (36) and Myles Turner (20) were the big scorers.
Games like Sunday’s certainly tire James out in Year 21 and age 39, as he mentions, but the bigger takeaway from 295-point games for James is the talent level that exists in the NBA today.
“No, not really. I’m exhausted. That’s what stops me. I’m like, ‘OK, shit, I need to get home and get some rest and get ready for this road trip,’ but obviously, our league is so great offensively and so many players that can play three levels.
“You got guys like, you looking at Myles Turner, you’re looking at AD. They’re finishing in the paint. They’re picking and popping and shooting 3s. You got guards getting into the paint and finishing at a high level. You see AR in the paint, you see Spence in the paint, you see TJ McConnell in the paint. Our league has so many great players that can do multiple things. With the game with so much space and so much shooting, there’s going to be some high-scoring games throughout our league.”
When asked if this win would give the Lakers momentum heading into a six-game road trip, James spoke about what he believes L.A. can be even when they’re not at their best on one side of the floor.
“I mean, we know who we are. We know we want to defend at a high level, and obviously, tonight, 145 is not at a high level. But I mean, against the Pacers it’s challenging. They put you in so many different situations, but offensively we want to continue to share the ball. We want to continue to get high assists and low-turnover games and just keep playing together. If we do that, we’ll be okay.”
The Lakers play the Milwaukee Bucks and have a rematch against the Pacers as part of this six-game road trip, but have some easier matchups in between. If they play the way they’ve shown they can play over the last few weeks, theres no reason they can’t have a successful trip away from home.
LeBron James focused on what Lakers can control
Through it all, the Lakers still have a standings battle to worry about. They are trying to chase teams above them to get into a better position for the Play-In Tournament, and have an uphill battle undoubtedly. But in the meantime, LeBron James is focused less on that and more on what the team is able to control.
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