The Los Angeles Lakers were coming off a rough loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, but they got a golden opportunity to right the ship when they took on the Detroit Pistons on the first night of their back-to-back set to close out their road trip.
With plenty of motivation to get a win, the Lakers dominated the Pistons 133-107 on the first night of their back-to-back set.
Detroit got out to an early 5-0 lead, but D’Angelo Russell got Los Angeles on the board with a layup and followed it up with a pass to LeBron James for an easy bucket. Anthony Davis got involved offensively with a great dish to Russell and back-to-back baskets to give Los Angeles a 15-8 lead.
Russell continued his hot shooting as he easily got to his spots on the floor, getting into double digits and giving the Lakers a 14-point lead. Los Angeles was able to march to the free throw line by virtue of them being in the bonus and they took a 38-24 advantage into the second.
The Pistons were able to cut into the deficit with a pair of threes, but Russell came back in and almost immediately knocked in one from deep to keep the Lakers up 13. Davis also returned and helped settle down the team on both ends, keeping it a 49-36 game.
Davis controlled the middle of the period by protecting the paint and scoring on the other end, keeping momentum on Los Angeles’ side. Cade Cunningham gave the Pistons a boost at the end of the half, but the Lakers still went into the locker room up 65-48.
Jaxson Hayes briefly went back to the locker room after hurting his left arm, but was able to return to the game.
Like the first quarter, Russell got off to another hot start shooting the basketball and his personal scoring gave Los Angeles a 73-52 lead. However, Detroit was able to get a few jumpers down to get make it a 20-point contest.
Fortunately, Davis and James got the team back on track by scoring in the painted area and upping their lead up to 30. The Pistons went on a run as soon as James hit the bench, but back-to-back threes from Russell kept the Lakers ahead 101-76.
Sensing a chance to put Detroit away, James went right to work attacking the heart of their defense for layups and free throws. With the win in hand, head coach Darvin Ham called a timeout to take James out and insert the bench the rest of the way.
Russell led the way for L.A. on the night, becoming the first player in NBA history 35-plus points, five-plus assists, three-plus blocks, five-plus 3-pointers and a field goal percentage of at least 75% in a game.
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