The Los Angeles Lakers were fighting with everything they had to avoid picking up a loss in the Crypto.com arena on Friday night. The Brooklyn Nets, who started the night at 14-27, should have been easy pickings for the Lakers but without Anthony Davis, they just couldn’t get it going and were unable to gain any significant separation.
A look at the box score will tell you the story of the game. Despite sitting on opposite ends of the standings, both teams looked to be on equal footing on Friday as they went back and forth through the first two quarters. The Lakers took a narrow six-point lead into halftime and carried that momentum to the clutch one-point win (102-101).
Without their leading big man, the Lakers leaned more on LeBron James tonight, and he delivered with 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists on 12-17 shooting. The game’s leading scorer was Austin Reaves with 38 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists on 4-8 shooting from three. Rui Hachimura totaled 10 points, 4 assists, and 6 rebounds on 4-10 shooting.
For the Nets, Ziaire Williams had a pretty solid showing with a final stat line of 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists on 5-13 shooting. In his first game against the Lakers since being traded, D’Angelo Russell had a nice revenge performance with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists on 7-15 shooting. Keon Johnson contributed 13 points, 2 steals, and 1 assist on 5-11 shooting.
The Lakers may be the deeper, stronger, and more experienced team but they are also flawed in many ways that allowed the Nets to nearly steal this win on the road. If not for some key factors that swung the game in their favor, the final result could have easily gone the other way.
Career-High Night For Austin Reaves
The Lakers needed someone to step up and fill Anthony Davis’ shoes tonight, and Austin Reaves responded with arguably the best game of the season. In 37 minutes, Reaves put up 38 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists on 13-23 shooting. He went 4-8 from three in 37 minutes and was the hot hand that kept the Lakers going all night long.
Without Davis, Reaves became the de-facto second option and he powered the offense with his shot-making in isolation, off the dribble, and everything in between. It remains to be seen if Austin can have more breakout games like that but more consistency would be huge in helping the Lakers to a successful season.
Reaves, 26, is averaging 17.9 points and 6.2 assists for the Lakers this season. And while he’s known to be a streaky shooter, we saw tonight why the Lakers value him so highly and why he’s got such a prominent place in JJ Redick’s rotation.
Late-Game Execution Prevented Disaster
It was far from the prettiest win for the Lakers, but they did enough things right down the stretch to secure victory and defend their home court. While the Nets shot a respectable 45.1% for the game, they were shut down in clutch time due to ferocious defensive intensity.
As the Nets were making a run in the fourth quarter, LeBron James and Austin Reaves worked together to keep the Lakers on pace offensively. James dropped 10 points alone in the final frame while Reaves scored 15 to save the Lakers in the clutch.
Towards the end, the Lakers nearly blew the game as they were trying to force up shots but once they settled down and let things come naturally, they were able to get back onto a rhythm and let their two stars (LeBron and Reaves) guide them the rest of the way.
LeBron James Found His Groove
This season has come with many challenges for 40-year-old superstar LeBron James but he’s somehow still just as dominant on the court with averages of 23.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game on 51.1% shooting. He’s the anchor both on the court and in the locker room and he’s seemingly back to form after a rough shooting streak.
Tonight, James elevated his game without Anthony Davis to drop 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists in the 102-101 win. He had the highest assists by far on the team because he was acting as the main initiator all game, making plays and setting up key opportunities for his teammates.
Most importantly, LeBron went 4-6 from beyond the arc, meaning he may finally snap his historically bad shooting streak. With LeBron in a full heater and guys like Austin Reaves having his best game of the season, the Lakers overwhelmed the Nets and proved themselves as the better team.
Only time will tell how the situation develops for the Lakers but they’ve managed to hold it down as a top-six team and if they can stay healthy there’s a chance they could end up even higher than that. In the West, the margin for error is so slim but the Lakers feel confident that they can beat any team in front of them if they are up to their potential.
The Lakers play the back end of a back-to-back tomorrow against the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome. Then, they play the Washington Wizards on Tuesday, January 21st, at the Cryto.com arena. Finally, they’ll host the Boston Celtics on Thursday, January 23rd, at 10:00 PM EST.
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