The Lakers (11-11) were back in action Sunday night following a heartbreaking loss to the Sacramento Kings in triple overtime Friday night. For the second time in a week, L.A. faced the Detroit Pistons (4-16) and came out victorious, 110-106.
The ‘Big 360’ has found some cohesion over the last few games as all three players are starting to find a rhythm with, not just each other, but their other teammates as well.
LeBron James recorded his third-straight 30+ point game, leading all scorers with 33 points to go with nine assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block. He finished 10-of-15 shooting and converted both of his three-point attempts.
Russell Westbrook had his fifth-straight 20+ point game, finishing with 25 points, to go with nine assists, six rebounds and a steal. Anthony Davis started the game hot, scoring 13 of his 24 total points in the first quarter. He recorded 10 rebounds, three blocks, two assists, and two steals for his 10th double-double of the season and the second time against Detroit.
DeAndre Jordan scored nine points in his 15th start this season and added six rebounds, two steal, two blocks and one assist. Off the bench, Talen Horton-Tucker was able to get out of his scoring funk and finish with 12 points along with eight rebounds, four assists and a block.
“We got a great group of guys,” Davis said. “It showed tonight. Some late miscues defensively on our end but for the most part we played a hell of a game on both ends of the ball. That [Sacramento] game kind of lingered with us for a couple days but we have a team that can run off several games in a row and I think we did a great job defensively tonight to kind of get this kickstart to our winning streak.”
The Lakers scored most of their points in the paint and outscored the Pistons 58-40. It is also the second-straight game the team has totaled 32 assists.
The Lakers carried a three-point lead into the half and both teams came out firing from the start of the third. With the game tied at 56, L.A. went on a 15-0 run before Detroit had a response to gain a 14-point lead. They would finish the quarter and outscore the Pistons 32-22, their third best third quarter this season (scored 33 points vs Charlotte and 34 points against Cleveland).
Frank Vogel acknowledged the team’s most recent turn of the tide when it comes to third quarter as the Lakers have now won six of the last nine third quarters.
“I thought the third quarter was our best defensive quarter,” Vogel said. “Obviously, it was a trouble area for us, and we knew we had to do better there, so we made the adjustment and have improved there. I challenged these guys to really compete to be a great defensive team.”
But the Pistons would not go away quietly and would cut the Lakers lead down to six with just under five minutes remaining in the game and eventually cut the deficit down to four. They'd get no closer and the Lakers would hold on for the four-point win despite being outscored 36-27 in the fourth.
Next on the schedule is a trip up to Sacramento (8-13) on Tuesday, where they’ll face the Kings for the second time in five days.