Without LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers pulled out a tight win over Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.
Without LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers (15-10) nearly blew an 18-point fourth-quarter lead but ultimately handed the San Antonio Spurs (3-20) their 18th consecutive loss on Wednesday. It was the second leg of a back-to-back for the Lakers — they lost to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday — and the first of two consecutive matchups with Victor Wembanyama. Anthony Davis was awesome, once again.
Here are three takeaways from the Lakers’ 122-119 win at the Frost Bank Center.
3. Wemby, Part I
In his first matchup against AD — himself once a wildly-hyped, new-age big-man — Wemby more than held his own. The rookie led a fourth-quarter surge (more on that momentarily), setting up a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds (he missed and was called for an offensive foul for kicking out his legs).
Wemby showcased the full bag: eye-popping rim protection, outside shooting, lob-catching skills, and crunchtime chops. Wembanyama finished with 30 points (11-for-21 shooting, 4-for-5 from 3), 13 assists, and six blocks (he also had five turnovers and fouled out). AD and Wemby even dunked on each other.
“He’s extremely talented,” said Davis. “Three-level scorer, as we seen tonight. Fun playing against him. … The team’s struggling. But he’s playing extremely well. He’s able to keep them in games.
“He showed why he’s the number one pick and the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year tonight.”
“He’s one-of-a-kind,” said Austin Reaves, who had a “wide-open layup” pinned off the backboard “out of nowhere” by Wemby. “It’s the whole game. The way he can shoot the ball, the way he moves, obviously, his size. He’s got a bright, bright future.”
LeBron (calf contusion) was held out for precautionary reasons. Presumably. we’ll get the first LeBron vs. Wemby showdown on Friday.
2. Lakers averted disaster
The Lakers led by as many as 20 and cruised into the homestretch. Davis probably assumed he was on the verge of clocking out. Instead, their attention to detail slipped, and the Spurs pounced. San Antonio outscored Los Angeles 45-30 in the final period and used an 11-2 run to close the gap to one within the final 30 seconds. The whole thing was way too close for comfort.
“We just gotta be better. We gotta be sharper,” said Reaves. “That was not a good fourth quarter, honestly.”
Ham was relatively harsh on his squad.
“We can’t get bored with the details,” he stressed. “We gotta add common sense to our talent. … We’re fortunate to pull that one out.”
The Lakers felt the absence of LeBron — the most clutch player in the league — as they lost momentum (they could’ve used more than 12 points from D’Angelo Russell). Rather than brushing aside the near-collapse, Ham identified a teachable moment.
“It’s no secret: we have championship aspirations. It can’t be, ‘I’m gonna wait til February or March or April to turn it on. You have to start building those habits now, immediately.”
1. Captain AD
Davis put up 37 points on 13-for-23 shooting, 10 rebounds, and four steals as he continues his run of MVP-caliber two-way basketball.
“When he’s like that, that’s when we’re our at best and obviously when he’s at his best,” said Reaves (15 points, eight assists). “We’ll continue to see that, and, we’ll just, as a team, be great at getting him the ball. Because that’s never a bad option.”
It was AD’s third straight 37+ point performance. Including the In-Season Tournament championship, Davis is averaging 38.3 points and 13.7 rebounds on 71.0% shooting over his past three outings.
“With Bron out of the lineup, him trying to put the team on his back,” said Ham. “Raising his aggression – to score, to defend, trying to be a leader in the huddle, out there trying to get the guy together. Just stepping up and being the captain that he is.”
For the second straight game, Davis hit a 3 — two, in fact! — and a handful of confident jumpers. Before Tuesday, he had not made a 3 since the third game of the season. He’s deeply struggled outside the paint.
As a team, the Lakers shot 40% from deep after making 51.7% of their triples in Dallas.
“(I’m) finding my shot,” said AD. “I think it’s easier for me to operate when my teammates are making shots.”
Davis was questionable heading into the Spurs game. He tweaked his ankle on the opening possession. Nobody would have blamed him for joining LeBron in street clothes. His reasoning for playing, though, was irrefutable.
“We’re trying to win basketball games.”
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