The Los Angeles Lakers host the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night in the rubber game of their three-game season series, and they’ll be looking to get back on track.
The Lakers, who lost to the Golden State Warriors 128-110 in San Francisco on Thursday, will return home without LeBron James due to an injured ankle. Los Angeles’ three-game winning streak was ended in their second straight game without James.
Los Angeles has emerged from the postseason conversation after winning six of its last eight games. In Thursday’s loss, Austin Reaves scored 16, Taurean Prince scored 12, and D’Angelo Russell scored 18.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 27 points and 15 rebounds. Los Angeles was outscored by 18 points on 3-pointers, and that was how the game was decided from beyond the arc.
The Lakers only need to focus on their strengths and become healthy in order to repeat their winning recipe.” “There isn’t much complex science involved.
Simply put, if necessary, we’ll review the games in which we performed well and try to duplicate it,” Reaves stated. “You can control effort and playing the correct way, but you can’t control constantly making shots, missing shots, and all that.
You can clearly recall where we were at the end of the previous campaign and how we used that momentum to win the postseason.”
After the game on Thursday, Lakers coach Darvin Ham talked about James’ availability against the Spurs.” We will get an official word (Friday) morning and see, but in all likelihood, he should be out there (Friday night),” Ham stated.
Following their Thursday 127-122 setback in Sacramento, the Spurs will head south. Six San Antonio players scored in double figures, led by Devin Vassell’s 32 points, while freshman Victor Wembanyama chipped in with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Jeremy Sochan scored 16 points, and Keldon Johnson scored 18 points off the bench.
After falling behind by as many as 11 points in the third quarter and by nine with 10:18 left in the fourth, San Antonio stormed back to reclaim the lead with 2:53 remaining on a three-point play by Wembanyama.
Vassell’s 3-pointer on the next possession put the Spurs ahead by four, and an 11-2 run by Sacramento sealed the victory. “We made mistakes; they made mistakes,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “We are not a good shooting team and we make a lot of young mistakes. But (my team) plays its ass off, and to be able to get it to where it was there within two minutes to go.
I couldn’t be more proud of them. “The Spurs have lost two straight games and nine of their past 10, falling to 1-5 on the first six contests of their nine-game annual Rodeo Road Trip.
San Antonio and Los Angeles split their first two contests this season, with both games played in San Antonio. The Lakers recorded a 122-119 win on Dec. 13 before the Spurs bounced back two nights later for a 129-112 victory that snapped a franchise-record 18-game losing streak. For more information click….
