The LA Lakers poured on the offense to grab their third consecutive win, beating the Indiana Pacers 150-145.
The bench finally produced at a higher level than they had all season, scoring 22 of the team’s 70 first-half points. They ended the game with 27 points. Sunday’s point total was the highest the Lakers have scored all season long.
Anthony Davis put his dominant stamp on the game early, nearly reaching a double-double in the first quarter. He ended the game with 36 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, and a block.
With D’Angelo Russell out, Spencer Dinwiddie slipped into the starting five and — for the second straight contest — had his best game as a Laker, scoring 26 points. LeBron James started slow but picked it up to end with 26 points, five rebounds, and 10 assists.
After the usual slow start, the offense began to open up, and LA started cooking after Dinwiddie’s dunk. The game was played at a high-energy pace and both teams played a good mixture of offense and defense.
In true Lakers fashion, they had a mini-run of turnovers and sloppy play to balance things out. LA’s offense slowed down significantly and the Pacers went up as much as eight. AD and Dinwiddie were the primary scorers in the first quarter as the rest of the team struggled to find their shots.
A 22-8 run by the Pacers had their lead up to 11 but LA shortened the deficit to six to end the period.
The second quarter began with the Lakers taking a one-point lead and looking more engaged. Dinwiddie continued his stellar play and more players started finding their shots.
It didn’t last as they went down eight. The Pacers continued to push the pace to their liking which resulted in LA struggling. The Lakers were able to answer back and a wild pass by Austin Reaves to Cam Reddish for a three put the Lakers up by one.
Foul trouble was starting to brew for AD, who was up to three and couldn’t be as assertive as he was in the first frame. With halftime lurking, both teams were firing on all cylinders, and neither defense stopped much.
Taurean Prince provided a much-needed spark off the bench with nine quick points. A 17-8 run to close the half put the Lakers up by four.
Dinwiddie opened the second half with two three-pointers in a row, continuing his excellent play. Austin, who struggled for much of the first, also scored seven quick points.
There was no denying that LA’s offense was more than great. It was going to be up to them to find a consistent defense to silence the Pacers. LA jumped to a 13-point lead midway into the third. The Lakers went up as much as 19, but the Pacers were pesky and cut the deficit to 17 to end the third.
Anthony Davis is 10 for 15 from the field and 5 of 5 at the FT line, his jumper giving him 26 points and LAL a 116-97 lead.
The Pacers kept their momentum going into the fourth, cutting the deficit to 11 and forcing a timeout from Darvin Ham. A double-digit lead is never safe, especially if both teams are red-hot offensively like both the Pacers and Lakers have been.
Indiana had no quit and kept hanging around to give the Lakers a nice scare. The Pacers’ 24-11 run cut the deficit to four. The visitors wouldn’t go away, rattling the nerves of Lakers Nation.
LA’s sudden surge extended their lead to nine. Austin’s spiked block awakened the crowd, but the Pacers were still within reach. AD’s dominance was too much for the Pacers as he once again was able to have his way to extend it to an eight-point LA lead.
The Pacers played the foul game and kept making their three-pointers to try and complete a comeback, but it wasn’t enough as free throws from Austin Reaves and Spencer Dinwiddie were just enough for the Lakers to hold onto a win.
Dinwiddie entering the starting five proved to be successful for this game, but it’ll be interesting to see if he can keep extending his recent great play.
This is the first game the Lakers won this season with D’Lo out. He’s an important player for this team, but it’s good to see the guys step up in his absence to grab the much-needed win.
The Lakers will play the Milwaukee Bucks next on Tuesday at 4:30 PM PT.
