The Los Angeles Lakers looked to close their six-game road trip on a high note after dropping a nine-game win streak to the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
They got a bit of a break from their recent high-level competition, facing the Indiana Pacers. Last year’s Finals runner up is the worst team by record in the NBA, and had lost 16 of their previous 17 before Wednesday night. But the Lakers were without Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton. Still, L.A. pieced together a wire-to-wire 137-130 victory, led by four 20-point scorers in Luka Doncic (43), Austin Reaves (25), LeBron James (23) and Jaxson Hayes (21).
It was all Lakers right away. They scored the night’s first 10 points, thanks to a couple of steals from Jake LaRavia — an Indiana native — and buckets from Doncic and James. The dominance didn’t stop there for Doncic or the Lakers, as they led 45-28 after one with the Slovenian superstar dropping 21 points in the frame.
Luke Kennard dropped a pair of early triples while the purple and gold shot 64% from the field and 66.7% from three in the opening quarter.
James took over in the second quarter with Doncic on the bench. He did a little bit of everything for L.A., punishing the Pacers at the rim and carving them up with his passing, as well. He was over halfway to a triple-double halfway through the period.
The Pacers made some noise in the last few minutes of the half, though. They went on a 17-4 run to cut the deficit to 11, then held strong with the Lakers until the break. Some late points off turnovers for James gave L.A. a 75-59 lead at halftime. Doncic had 28 points and James had 15 points, six rebounds and six assists.
The Lakers re-established their foot on the gas pedal early in the second half. Doncic and James each found Hayes — in for the injured Ayton — for highlight-reel alley-oops to restore L.A.’s lead to 23.
Doncic reached 30 points — his 11th-straight game reaching the mark — midway through the third. That tied the longest such streak of his career and extended his longest 30-point streak with the Lakers.
L.A. kept their control heading into the final frame with a 105-85 lead behind 39 points from Doncic and a double-double from Hayes.
It continued to be a strong night from Hayes in the fourth. He reached 20 points, making it his first 20-10 game as a member of the Lakers. The Pacers hung around, though, cutting it to a 16-point game with under seven minutes to play.
Doncic reached 40 points with a technical free throw, continuing his remarkable stretch. It’s his fifth game with 40 or more points in his last 11.
The Pacers went on a late run in the final minutes, cutting the deficit all the way down to six, but it was not enough to overcome the strong early play from L.A.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers return home to Los Angeles on Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets as an easier stretch of schedule continues. They’ll get two full days off before hosting the Washington Wizards on Monday night.
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