The Los Angeles Lakers hit the road on Friday night, taking on the San Antonio Spurs in their first group play game of the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup.
The Lakers are looking to defend their title and need to take care of business in the group stage in order to do that. They did exactly that against the Spurs, earning a 120-115 victory to improve their overall record to 8-4 on the season.
It wasn’t a great start for the Lakers as the Spurs jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead, forcing JJ Redick to call timeout after a triple by Victor Wembanyama.
After another bucket by Wembanyama, Dalton Knecht finally got the Lakers on the board with a layup and then LeBron James followed with one of his own.
Chris Paul was controlling the game early though, finding Wembanyama for another bucket and then making a corner 3 to put his team up double digits.
Anthony Davis started to get involved from there with 16 quick points to keep the game from getting out of reach. In fact, the Lakers also started to lock in defensively and with a strong close to the first quarter, they took a 31-30 lead.
The Laker run continued into the second quarter with James leading the way, finding Max Christie for five straight points to take their own double digit lead and force a Spurs timeout. That timeout did wonders for the Spurs as Wembanyama led a 9-0 run to regain their composure.
Again though, the Lakers closed the quarter with a nice run. Davis continued to do work inside while Knecht and Austin Reaves both hit triples to give L.A. a 68-60 halftime lead.
Midway through the third quarter, James clinched his fourth straight triple-double, marking the first time in his 22-year career he has accomplished that feat. The Lakers defense slipped though as Wembanyama and the Spurs were scoring with ease to keep it close.
Davis was still doing his thing though with 30 points through three as the Lakers led 93-86 going into the fourth.
D’Angelo Russell heated up to begin the fourth quarter with five quick points for L.A. although the Spurs answered back to cut their deficit to just one.
The Lakers missed a few costly free throws that would’ve given them a least a little cushion. Instead, a Devin Vassell triple gave the Spurs their first lead since the first quarter.
Davis answered back in a big way, making back-to-back triples as his 3-ball has returned this season.
With the Lakers up three in the final minute, the Spurs got a good look at a triple but it didn’t go down. The Lakers then made their free throws to close out the close win.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will return to the court on Saturday, taking on the New Orleans Pelicans in the second night of a road back-to-back. They will then resume Emirates NBA Cup group play on Tuesday night when they return to L.A. and host the Utah Jazz.
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