After a rough loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night, their third in a row, the Los Angeles Lakers returned to the court on Wednesday and took on the San Antonio Spurs in the second of a road back-to-back.
Given the team’s recent struggles, JJ Redick adjusted his starting lineup by putting in Dalton Knecht over Cam Reddish hoping for a spark. It helped do the trick as the Lakers were able to get back on track with a 119-101 win to improve to 11-7 on the season.
Victor Wembanyama got his team off to a nice start as he had a pair of blocks and a triple. After another 3-pointer by the Spurs, they led 9-2 early. Knecht responded with a pair of 3s of his own though and Davis had a putback dunk to get the Lakers settled in.
Knecht’s strong start continued as he had 10 points before going to the bench, giving the Lakers their first lead. D’Angelo Russell came off the bench and scored four quick points as L.A. led 32-23 at the end of the quarter.
Russell stayed hot to begin the second quarter with a midrange jumper and then two more triples. The Lakers’ defense was as good as it has been all season in the first half as they were forcing the Spurs into tough looks.
The Spurs went on a run to cut their 15-point deficit to just eight, although Austin Reaves buried a triple to beat the halftime buzzer and send his team into the locker room leading 58-47.
L.A. has struggled in third quarters as of late and that continued to start this one with Stephon Castle and Wembanyama making back-to-back triples.
A timeout helped lock the Lakers back in though as Knecht scored and then came up with a steal, finding Davis in transition for a dunk to force a Spurs timeout this time.
The Lakers began pouring it on from there as Max Christie had an awesome stretch of two-way basketball for his team. Wembanyana beat the third quarter buzzer with a layup, but the Lakers still led 92-77 going into the fourth.
Overall it was a pretty quiet night for LeBron James but after the Spurs quickly got back within 10, he attacked the offensive glass to get some buckets for his team. After a triple by Reaves, the Lakers led comfortably and were able to close out the win without any issues.
What’s next for the Lakers
After playing two nights in a row, the Lakers will get to enjoy their Thanksgiving on Thursday before returning home and hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday in their final group play game of the Emirates NBA Cup.
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