Postgame Wrap

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lalswong

The Lakers clipped the Hawks wings this Monday night with a 136-105 win. D’Angelo Russell (27 points, 10 assists, four rebounds), LeBron James (25 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds), and Anthony Davis (22 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, and two steals) combined for more than half of the teams' points with 74. There were six guys in double figures, the team ended with 39 assists, and DLo made Lakers history tying a 30+ year franchise record. 

“It’s a beautiful feeling,” Russell said, “Knowing what this organization means to me, obviously it adopted me at a very young age as a rookie in this league, to having my name in the record books at multiple different organizations. I give the credit to the work that I put in and what continues to inspire me every time I step on the floor.” With 14 games (now 13) to earn their place in playoff contention, and after dropping their last two games to the Kings and Warriors, every game matters and the Lakers needed this one. But then the Hawks started things off with an 11-2 run. “We quickly recalibrated. ...And then we didn't look back,” Head Coach Darvin Ham said after the game.  

This Hawks’ run snapped something in the Lakers, and they started playing harder with a fire, and more importantly, an anger. Especially LeBron James who finished the first quarter with 12 points and Anthony Davis who had 11 points and five rebounds. James and Davis were both questionable before the game. James because of an ongoing but manageable ankle injury and Davis because of an eye contusion after he was hit with an elbow in Saturday’s game against GSW.  The Lakers finished the first up by 10, 38-28. They were owning the Hawks in the paint, outshooting them 24-12. And Atlanta was trying to inflict pain from outside but could only make four out of 13 threes (30.8) in the first frame. Dejounte Murray had nine points, six assists, and two steals. 

By half, the Lakers increased their lead to 14, 73-59. LBJ had 19 points, AD had 11 rebounds, DLo had seven assists. The Lakers continued to own the paint and extended their territory to three-point range, shooting 44.4% by halftime behind the firepower of LeBron, DLo, and Max Christie while Atlanta shot 28.0% making only seven of their 25 attempts. That's with the exception of Bogdan Bogdanovic (17 points, three rebounds), who made three of four threes for 17 first-half points. In all, the Lakers shot 41.7% from three and 57.8 from the field.  

Heading into the final frame, AD was up to 15 rebounds and DLo 10 assists. The Lakers ended the third 111-86 behind two DLo threes, one at the buzzer. Then Russell started the fourth with another triple, his fifth. Minutes later, he made his sixth and tied Nick Van Exel for most single-season three-pointers in franchise history at 183. “That’s really cool,” DLo commented on his achievement, “...To get credit for your game and what you do.”  “His shooting piece is hands down the best shooting on our team—and we have a few,” Coach Ham said of DLo.  After tonight’s 31-point win, the team has a few days off before they host Philly on Friday.  

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D’Angelo Russell and the Lakers Torch Hawks with Firepower 

Darius Soriano

Fresh off a critical defensive stop, his team down by three and with just seconds left on the clock in the 4th quarter, LeBron James raced up the court, received an outlet pass, and after running through the three-point line, slowed his momentum enough to step back to the arc, and get off what looked to be a game tying shot.

The ball laced through the net with 2.3 seconds on the clock, but the excitement LeBron and the team felt in the immediate aftermath was quickly muted when the ruling on the court determined LeBron was not fully behind the line, leaving the made shot worth two points -- with the referee crew signaling they would review the call.

After a long review, however, the ruling on the court stood and the Lakers still trailed by two -- somewhat controversially after an image on a courtside monitor showed an angle of LeBron's foot that was ever-so-slightly behind the line as he was going into his shooting motion.

Other angles were not as clear, and, thus, the original call stood. And so, the game went on with the Lakers down by one on the scoreboard.

After Minnesota inbounded and the Lakers fouled to extend the game, the Wolves split their free throws, setting up one last chance for the Lakers to tie or even win the game. LeBron received the inbounds, but was quickly double teamed and was unable to get a shot off. The result was a hard-fought 108-106 defeat that the Lakers can hold their heads high after for the way they competed, but one that is extremely frustrating for how it all ended.

Despite those closing seconds, the game came down to more than that one call and while Lakers played well enough to win, so did Minnesota. Their overall shooting from the field in comparison to the Lakers (50% from the Wolves to 42% for the Lakers) and their superior shot making from behind the arc (+15 points on made threes) were key statistics that helped them get this victory.

On the Lakers end, they got another fantastic performance from Anthony Davis, who led the team with 33 points (12-of-17 shooting), 17 rebounds, eight assists, four steals, and two blocks -- which were also game-high numbers in every category except blocks (Anthony Edwards had three). Davis was brilliant throughout the contest, proving too much to handle for his individual defender offensively and a menace to the Wolves defensively with his efforts on the ball when the Lakers were switching and at the basket when they played more of their traditional coverages.

Also tremendous was LeBron, who joined Davis as the only other Laker who scored in double figures with 26 points on 10-of-21 shooting to go with three rebounds, six assists, and three steals. James, who came into the game questionable with a non-COVID illness, did not have his normal wind, but pushed through to score important baskets down the stretch with 10 of his points coming in the 4th quarter.

But outside of those two, the Lakers just did not get enough production from the rest of the team to get them over the hump. The team's entire bench scored 26 points on 7-of-27 shooting, which was nearly equaled by Naz Reid's 21 points alone off the Wolves' bench, to say nothing of the secondary production they got from three other players scoring in double-figures, including Edwards 31 points to lead them.

And, so, the Lakers just did not have enough in this one. And they now head into New Orleans on Sunday night on the 2nd night of a back-to-back to close out 2023 in a matchup with the Pelicans.

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Lakers Lose Close Battle to Timberwolves in Chaotic Closing Seconds

Joey Ramirez

The threes were falling, the celebrations were out, and the Lakers continued to flaunt a sizzling offense in their return to Crypto.com Arena five months after their prior season ended in the Western Conference Finals.&nbsp;

While visiting Golden State came away with a 129-125 preseason victory, the Lakers controlled the majority of the starters’ minutes and took a seven-point lead into halftime. From there, both teams began emptying their benches. In fact, LeBron James even changed into street clothes at half, with his fellow starters joining him on the bench shortly thereafter.

James and co. were in top gear in that first half, scoring 70 points by intermission on 54.8% shooting with 10 3-pointers — despite missing Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt and Cam Reddish due to various ailments. Head coach Darvin Ham highlighted that the team had 18 assists on 23 baskets at the half.&nbsp;

Part of this success could, of course, be traced back to LeBron, who was effective in his 18 minutes of action, flashing his jumper and kickout passing en route to 12 points and five assists. &nbsp;

However, it was newcomer Taurean Prince who stepped into the spotlight, scoring a team-best 17 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point distance, plus a sweet steal into a Eurostep layup. The eight-year veteran has been shooting with confidence over his last two games, both of which he started.&nbsp;

Afterward, Prince’s coach praised him for his versatility.

“He’s a pro’s pro,” Ham said. “Strong. He’s the quintessential 3 and D guy. … [He’s] a guy who doesn’t have to force anything.”

All five Lakers starters scored in double figures. Austin Reaves was his usual efficient-yet-flashy self, scoring 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting while mixing in a left-handed and-1 circus shot and a two-handed slam.&nbsp;

Anthony Davis was part of the team’s great ball movement, providing 13 points, six rebounds and four assists. And D’Angelo Russell continued his fiery start to the preseason with 12 points and six assists.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, Christian Wood added 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench in only 13 minutes — giving fans a tase of his microwave scoring potential by hitting a few jumpers to complement his more traditional big-man moves down low.&nbsp;

A Long Beach native and childhood Lakers fan, Wood found special feeling in playing in front of the team’s home crowd for the first time.&nbsp;

“It was amazing,” Wood said. “My mom was here and my son was here. It felt great just to be out there.”&nbsp;

However, the Warriors were able to spoil the Lakers’ return to their home arena by outscoring their hosts by 11 over the second half. Jonathan Kuminga was in high-flier mode for the visitors, scoring 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting. A lineup of Lakers rookies went back-and-forth with the Warriors in the final minutes, but Kuminga was able to lead his team to victory in that final stretch.&nbsp;

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Lakers' Offense Continues to Soar Despite Preseason Loss to Warriors

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D'Angelo Russell Game Highlights 10-9-23

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Lakers vs Nets Preseason Game Highlights 10-9-23

With LeBron James and Austin Reaves making their preseason debut, the Lakers dominated the 1st half and then, with their five rookies closing things out, were able to hold on late to beat the Brooklyn Nets 129-126 to get their first preseason win on Monday night in Las Vegas.

With nearly their full roster available -- Jarred Vanderbilt (heel) and Cam Reddish (ankle) both sat out -- the Lakers bounced back with a strong offensive performance fueled both by the return of LeBron and Reaves' ability to help organize and balance the offensive initiation, but by a barrage of three pointers fueled by good ball movement and wonderful shot making.

Nine different Lakers connected from behind the arc, with six of them hitting two or more -- including four each from D'Angelo Russell and Reaves in five and six attempts respectively. Taurean Prince also bounced back from a difficult debut game on Saturday by knocking down three of his five attempts from deep vs. the Nets and five of his seven shots overall for 13 points.

In addition to Prince, seven other Lakers scored in double figures, led by Rui Hachimura's 19 points on 8-14 shooting and Reaves' 18 points on just seven attempts from the field (five makes) while hitting all four of his foul shots. Reaves also chipped in two rebounds and two assists, showing off the type of all-court game he's becoming known for in his young career.

In his first action this exhibition season, LeBron totaled 10 points, five assists, three rebounds, one steal, and one block in nearly 17 minutes of game action. Moving well and looking bouncy as he worked his way into the flow of things, LeBron oscillated between scorer and facilitator, canning jumpers from the midrange while dropping dimes to shooters and cutters alike.

Anthony Davis picked up where he left off from Saturday's game by impacting both ends of the floor at an elite level. Scoring 13 points (4-6 shooting) to go along with seven rebounds, one assist, and three blocks, AD again flashed comfort shooting his jumper (1-3 from behind the arc) and attacking the rim via drives and hard rolls into the paint. Add in his typical rim protection and Davis was a menace to the Nets in his 14 minutes of game action.

While there is still work to do on both ends of the floor, including some cleaning up of defensive possessions from some of the bench groups that played together in the second half, this was a strong overall performance from the Lakers. In the first half when they mostly played their typical rotation with more groups you might expect to see real minutes together during the regular season, the Lakers led by as many as 19 and showed a level of defensive range and outside shot-making befitting of their talent.

They will look to carry over this momentum when they return to action on Wednesday against the Kings.

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Lakers Bounce Back, Beat Brooklyn to Get Preseason Win

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Austin Reaves Game Highlights 10-9-23

Mike Trudell

A wild finish to the Las Vegas Summer League saw the Lakers defeat the Clippers 104-103 thanks to a free throw from Cole Swider with 00.4 seconds left on Sunday evening to complete a 3-2 week in Sin City.L.A. had taken a commanding 103-100 lead with 17.5 seconds left when LJ Figueroa drove to the rim and scored plus the foul. Though he missed the and-1 free throw, the Lakers got a stop on the other end, and Figueroa drew another foul with 04.0 seconds left. But Figueroa – who’d been terrific for a second straight game by leading L.A. with 23 points on 10 of 13 field goals and seven boards in his 23 minutes off the pine – missed two more free throws.

The Clippers managed a game-tying triple with 00.4 seconds left. But on the ensuing inbounds play after the Lakers advanced the ball, Swider drew a foul by forcing contact while trying to free himself, giving the Lakers one free throw, and the basketball since the ball had yet to be inbounded.Swider, who’d hit 5 of his 9 three pointers on the evening, calmly sank the foul shot, clinching the victory.Shooting guard D’Moi Hodge joined Swider and Figueroa with 20+ points, scoring 23 on 7 of 13 shooting, all seven makes coming from three, not to mention five steals, five boards, three assists and a block. In the frontcourt, Colin Castleton controlled the glass with a game-best 14 rebounds, as well as a team-best six assists.

The Lakers struggled to shoot the basketball from distance in Vegas*, but that wasn’t the case against the Clippers, as they converted 13 of 26 attempts, largely thanks to Swider and Hodge. The Lakers controlled the backboards, grabbing 41 to LAC’s 30, but committed 19 turnovers to LAC’s 12 to give their opponent extra opportunities.*They finished at 33.6% even after the strong finale.Max Christie, who’d been L.A.’s best player this summer, missed a second straight game with a right hip strain, while first round pick Jalen Hood-Schifino also missed the contest due to a right groin strain.L.A.’s next professional action will come on Oct. 7 at Golden State for the preseason opener, before they return to Vegas on Oct. 9 to face Brooklyn.