The Los Angeles Lakers finished up their Texas road trip with another matchup against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night, looking for their second straight victory against the Western Conference’s worst team.
The Lakers were missing three starters with Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell and Cam Reddish ruled out, although LeBron James and Jarred Vanderbilt were able to return. The Spurs came in losers of 18 straight and they made sure that didn’t get to 19 as they led wire-to-wire for a 129-115 victory.
Without so many key pieces, the Lakers predictably struggled early as the Spurs jumped out to a 16-4 lead despite a highlight dunk by James in transition.
Austin Reaves was in the starting lineup for the Lakers and got a couple early buckets, but Spurs players like Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell were hot early. Darvin Ham was finally forced to call a timeout with the Lakers trailing 21-8.
From there, the Lakers’ lack of size without Davis became apparent with Victor Wembanyama dominating the paint on both ends to extend San Antonio’s lead to 20 at 42-22 at the end of the first.
The Spurs stayed hot from 3-point range to begin the second quarter while the Lakers were ice cold. After the deficit ballooned to 25 though, the Lakers began to chip away with a 15-2 run to get back in it. Reaves, James and Taurean Prince connected from deep as L.A. finally started to get some shots to fall.
The Laker run continued to end the half with James dotting Wembanyama’s eyes on a triple. Christian Wood also made some big contributions offensively and a once 25-point deficit was just seven at the half, 69-62.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, the first quarter Spurs came out in the third quarter as they were red-hot from deep again to get their lead back up to 16.
When his team needed it most though, Reaves came through with back-to-back deep triples to lead an 8-0 run. The young Spurs kept their composure and eventually regained control though, closing the quarter strong to take a 98-87 lead into the fourth. It marked just the second time all season that the Spurs won a third quarter.
Vassell and the Spurs stayed hot to begin the fourth, stretching the lead even further back up to 17. While James was doing what he could to get open looks for his teammates, they just weren’t falling while the Spurs were scoring with ease on the other end.
When the Spurs’ lead got all the way back up to 20 midway through the fourth, Ham called the plug and pulled James for the night with the Lakers going on to suffer the disappointing defeat.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!