On the second night of a back-to-back, the Lakers got some much-needed reinforcements in their lineup and took down the Spurs 113-104 to sweep the season series 4-0 over their old Texas rival.
The story of the night was Anthony Davis making his return to the lineup after missing the last 20 games with a right foot stress injury. Playing on a reduced minutes load, AD came off the bench and eased his way back into things after missing so much time. He moved around the court freely, but did so with a bit more caution as he adjusted to the timing and physicality of NBA action.
As the game went on, however, AD began to get more and more comfortable, flashing his trademarked dominance on defense while mixing in parts of his vast offensive repertoire. Whether he was smothering a backdoor cut with a challenge at the rim, blocking a shot attempt in the restricted area, burying a long jumper, or getting an offensive rebound for a put back, the longer the game went on the more AD looked like himself.
Davis finished the night with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks in 26 minutes, but even more impressive is the fact that in his 26 minutes of game action the Lakers posted a defensive rating of 86.4, a major factor in the team being a +8 in the box score in those minutes.
Beyond AD’s return, everyone also got their first look at Rui Hachimura who made his Lakers debut after Monday’s trade. Like AD, Rui came off the bench and took a little time to find his stride, but once he did, he flashed some of the skills that surely inspired the front office to acquire him.
Showing off a nice floor game on both sides of the ball, Rui contributed defensively and on glass while also displaying his skills in transition and some of the polish he has as a shot creator and finisher in the half court. He finished the night with 12 points on 5-7 shooting, to go along with six rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
With both AD and Rui available, the Lakers were able to play a more balanced game and not be as reliant on LeBron to carry such a heavy load. LeBron, of course, still had a great impact on the game, but did so more as a passer and ball mover vs. a Spurs defense that sent double teams and extra ball pressure to him all night in the hopes of disrupting his scoring.
LeBron would still finish the night with 20 points on 8-20 shooting, but added 11 assists (along with nine rebounds) to make San Antonio’s defense pay for all that extra attention.
One of the beneficiaries of that extra defensive attention was Patrick Beverley, who finished the night with a season high 18 points on 6-12 shooting, including 3-7 from behind the arc. Beverley also brought his typical energy defensively, teaming up with his backcourt partner Dennis Schröder to pressure the ball to combine for six of the team’s 12 steals on the night.
While there is still more work to do and more adjusting on the horizon as the team gets more whole with Austin Reaves and Lonnie Walker set to return to the lineup soon, this win was a good first step in coming together.
The Lakers will look to carry this momentum forward when they begin their five-game road trip in Boston against the Celtics on Saturday.