Without LeBron James (left ankle soreness), but with a trio of newly acquired players inserted into the rotation, the Lakers held off the Warriors 109-103 to get a much-needed win on Saturday night.
In a mostly defensive battle that saw both teams struggle to score efficiently, it was Dennis Schröder who led the Lakers’ offensive attack, knocking down his outside jumper early and finding ways to get into the paint and to the foul line throughout the rest of the game to provide a ballast on that side of the ball.
Dennis would finish the night with a team-high 26 points on 7-12 shooting from the field and 9-11 from the foul line to go along with three rebounds and three assists. Understanding his usage would need to uptick without LeBron, Dennis was relentless in attacking all night, setting the tone for the team offensively.
Joining Dennis with an assertive offensive night were D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt, both acclimating quickly to their new teams by playing to their strengths offensively.
Russell got things going early, leveraging his craft as a ball handler and finisher to come off screens and get to his spots where he could finish on the move. Slithering his way into the teeth of the defense, Russell found himself right at home as a scorer both inside and out to the tune of 15 points on 6-12 shooting.
Vanderbilt, meanwhile, scored 12 points on 5-7 shooting, showing off an all-court game that really gave the team juice. Grabbing defensive rebounds and eschewing outlet passes to push the ball himself, Vanderbilt thrived in the open court and was able to create baskets for himself and teammates with the ball in his hands. He’d finish the night with four assists to complement his scoring, and his general feel for the game and creativity with the ball offered a real boost.
It was the Lakers’ defense, however, that sealed this win, particularly down the stretch. Anthony Davis did not have his most efficient night scoring the ball (13 points on 5-19 shooting), but his defense in the 4th quarter was critical to staving off the hard charging Warriors.
After the game Davis said that with his offense not going as well, he “shifted (his) focus” to the defensive side of the ball, which led to two critical blocks against Klay Thompson and Donte DiVincenzo, as well several key defensive rebounds that helped the Lakers close out possessions with the ball after forcing an initial stop.
Teaming with AD defensively were the Lakers’ trio of guards, in particular Austin Reaves who helped keep Klay Thompson at bay by chasing him over the top of screens to deny him touches and then hound him into difficult shots when was able to get the ball. Klay would score 15 points on the night, but was scoreless on 0-7 from the field in the 4th quarter, with Reaves and AD — who was helping off of Draymond Green — tracking him all over the floor.
But, even with those stops, the Lakers still needed to get enough crunch time baskets to pull out the win. And down the stretch, they played with a level of poise and togetherness that belies their time as teammates.
Russell had a personal five-point run in the middle of the period to give the Lakers the lead, and then a combination of big buckets from Rui Hachimura (16 points, 6-11 shooting) and Schröder allowed the Lakers to fend the Warriors off in the final minutes to seal the win.
The Lakers will try to build on this win when they visit Portland to play the Blazers on Monday.
Be the first to comment