The Lakers snapped their four-game losing streak with much needed victory by taking down the Magic 129-110 on Tuesday night. The win moved the Lakers to 1-1 on their road trip and up to 14-20 on the season.
In a game where six Lakers scored in double figures and multiple players had standout performances, they do not win this game without Russell Westbrook's triple-double and the impact his play carried. In 29 minutes off the bench, Russ scored 15 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and dished out 13 assists all while playing with great pace and bringing a relentlessness to how he attacked the Magic defense in both transition and the half court.
After hitting consecutive jumpers at the beginning of his first shift, Russ did a wonderful job of getting downhill and into the paint over the course of the rest of the game, getting Orlando's defense on its heels where he could either score himself or create a good shot for a teammate. Beyond his offensive impact, Russ played a balanced floor game defensively, often defending up, and then providing dynamic rebounding to help close out possessions. Considering all these areas he contributed, it's no wonder Russ was a team best +18 in the boxscore.
Heading into this game there was real concern that Orlando's size and front court depth could be a real challenge, but it was the Lakers combination of LeBron and Thomas Bryant who posed the problems for their opponents in this game.
LeBron's streak of 30-point games might have come to an end, but his 28 points (12-24 FG's) led the Lakers and his work inside the arc was crucial in helping to control the tenor of the game when the pace started to slow down. Bron worked out the post often, creating good shots for himself on backdowns and quick seals where he overpowered defenders. Then, when the defense collapsed or when they sent double teams, Bron expertly kicked the ball out to open shooters.
As for Bryant, he manned the middle with force offensively and on the backboards, scoring 21 points on 8-10 shooting while grabbing 10 rebounds. Bryant worked the interior of the Magic defense by sliding into open spaces and making himself available on dives and quick cuts. He flashed his trademark good hands on several tricky passes in order to get shots inside and, as usual, ran the floor well to help get the team going in transition.
On a more team-wide basis, the Lakers did well to move the ball and really generate advantages for their offense via drive and kicks and by looking for each other in transition. The Lakers shot 17-43 from behind the arc and many of those makes came on wide open shots via unselfish passes against scrambling defenders. On the night, the Lakers tallied 32 assists on their 49 made baskets, including a throw-behind lob from Austin to a trailing LeBron that everyone in the arena had to appreciate.
Ultimately, this was a wonderful team win from a group that kept their focus and showed great determination for nearly the entire game. Of course, the Magic made several different runs looking to get back into it and, on a couple of occasions it looked like they might even succeed. But, whether it was a Troy Brown or Pat Bev three pointer, a Wenyen offensive rebound to get the team another possession, or Austin Reaves drawing a charge, the Lakers always seemed to make the timely play they needed to keep Orlando at bay.
They'll look to keep this momentum going when they travel to Miami to play the Heat for a back-to-back on Wednesday.