FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Spurs - Game 17

FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Spurs – Game 17

Franchise Sports Media

Los Angeles Lakers (6-11) | San Antonio Spurs (6-14)

 

The Lake Show defeated the San Antonio Spurs 105-94 through the combined efforts of Anthony Davis and a healthy LeBron James

 

The NBA suspended Patrick Beverley for three games due to his accumulation of unsportsmanlike acts. It is the eighth time he has either been suspended or fined. He was barred from playing in this one and will be eligible to return in the matchup against Portland.

Juan Toscano-Anderson was available after missing the last three games with a sore back. Max Christie exited health & safety protocols and was cleared to play. After missing five games with a left adductor strain, LeBron James was also available to play.

Darvin Ham deployed a starting lineup of Dennis Schroder, Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr., LeBron James, and Anthony Davis. Schroder was the primary beneficiary in Beverley’s absence.

It was a solid start to the game for the Lakers, who took a 9-2 lead with a pair of fast break finishes plus a jumper from James and a Brown Jr. three. The Spurs started 1 for 4 with two turnovers.

Walker IV was looking to soar over the defense but dumped it off to Davis for two. James got the steal and passed it up to Brown Jr. in transition for the dunk. Walker IV then hit back-to-back threes to go up 17-9. The Lakers made only four threes against Phoenix. Jakob Poeltl answered with a score inside over Davis. 

Austin Reaves and Russell Westbrook came in for Schroder and Brown Jr. midway through the first. Westbrook immediately got to work by throwing up the lob to Davis, who threw it down. Then Westbrook tied Ron Harper for 24th on the NBA’s all-time steals list with 1,716, which led to Walker IV jumping over the defense to score the layup.

Kendrick Nunn hit a three off the efforts of Wenyen Gabriel to secure an offensive rebound, and Westbrook, out in transition, dunked it home. At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers led 33-21. Walker IV led the way with 10 points on 2-4 from three.

James got the scoring started in the second for the Lakers with a three. However, he was a little rusty and already had five turnovers so far. But a nice stretch of offense from Reaves and Walker IV powered the Lake Show to a 51-37 lead into a 2nd quarter time out at the 2:42 mark.

It seems like every game, we have these scary moments with Davis, as he slipped on a wet spot and fell to the ground. It could’ve been really bad for his groin, but luckily he comes away unbothered and just laughs it off.

Davis showed that he was fine when he hit a cutting James for the layup. Walker IV elevated to score another one, and Westbrook, in transition, passed it off to James, who got the two, pushing their lead to 20.

 

At the half, James had nine points on 4 of 8 field goals, with three assists and six turnovers as he shook off some rust after missing the last five games.

 

Thomas Bryant, Christie, and Toscano-Anderson didn’t play in the first half. Surprising that Bryant, in particular, didn’t get any minutes. The Lakers didn’t go with the size they have available now that James was back, but we saw more of a guard-heavy approach.

To start the second half, Davis got six buckets to fall. But James was called for a charge, which was his seventh turnover of the game. Devin Vassell tried to get things going with a three but missed, as the Spurs fell to 2-19 from three.

James tried to bounce a pass through to Schroder, but it was stolen. It led to a transition bucket for the Spurs—yet another turnover for the king. Keldon Johnson scored the and-1 layup over Davis, which cut the Laker lead to 12 as the Spurs had outscored the Lake Show 17-11 in the third quarter.

James and Vassell traded buckets, keeping the lead within 12. But Poeltl had the mismatch with Reaves on him, and he took advantage, scoring inside and cutting the lead to 10, forcing Ham to take a timeout.

Davis and Westbrook passed it back and forth until Davis finally got an open look for two. Johnson came back down and went straight at Davis for the contested layup. Zach Collins fought inside for the score and cut the lead to eight. Tre Jones got an easy baseline layup, and the lead was now down to six. Vassell got his rebound and cut the lead to four.

The Lakers once led by 20, but their lead dwindled to 79-75 through three quarters, as they didn’t score in the final 3:44 of the third quarter. The Spurs ripped off an 8-0 run to trim the lead to 4, with James and Davis on the bench. The Lake Show got outscored 34-20 in that third quarter, and San Antonio made it a new ball game.

James went straight to Davis for two to begin the fourth. But James was late on a closeout, leaving Isaiah Roby open for the three. Reaves then got ahead in transition and was able to get an easy layup.

Order was restored when Reaves went behind his back to James, and their lead was back to 12, reaching 22 fast break points on the night. James then got back-to-back buckets in transition, capping a 9-0 run.

James continued with a pass to Davis in transition, and he got the dunk. Vassell finally ended the drought with a putback layup, stopping the 11-0 Laker run.

After Schroder got the and-1, Johnson tried to go back at Davis, which worked earlier in the game, but Davis had none of it this time, rejecting Johnson the first time and rejecting him again after Johnson got his rebound.

James missed a layup, but Davis ran down the court to put it back in. James cut backdoor, and Davis hit him for the dunk. James then missed a jumper, but Davis came flying in for the putback and scored through the foul. That was the end of it as Ham emptied the bench up 13 with 90 seconds to play. The final score read Lakers 105, Spurs 94.

Key Takeaways

 

The Lakers won their first road game of the season to improve to 6-11. They’ve won four of their past five games. Davis didn’t get 30 again, but he scored 25 points on 10-13 shooting, 15 rebounds, and three blocks. James had 21 points, eight rebounds, and five assists in his return. Walker IV also pitched in 18 points on 4-9 from three.

Jones led the way for the Spurs with 19 points and five assists. Vassell came away with 18 points and six rebounds but was held to 0-6 from three. Johnson had it rough with 15 points on 6-23 overall and 1-8 from three, as well as nine rebounds.

James told reporters that there’s a “strong possibility” he plays against the Spurs on the second night of a back-to-back. He feels good after rehabilitating for the previous two weeks.

 

The Lakers will now stay in San Antonio, Texas, to rematch the San Antonio Spurs. They’ll face off Saturday, November 26th, at 5:00 p.m. at the AT&T Center. The game will be available on Spectrum SportsNet and NBA League Pass.

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– Jake Ideguchi-Furukawa – Franchise Sports Media

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