Balanced Lakers beat Spurs to end 3-game skid
SAN ANTONIO — The last time Lakers coach JJ Redick made a change to the starting lineup by choice and not because of an injury replacement, the team rattled off a six-game winning streak after more than a week of subpar play.
Entering Wednesday on a three-game losing streak, Redick pushed the right buttons again with the decision to insert rookie wing Dalton Knecht back into the starting five in place of Cam Reddish, helping the Lakers end their skid with a balanced effort in a 119-101 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
“A lot of guys stood out,” Redick said. “Especially back to back, coming off the loss we had [Tuesday] night, getting in at 4 a.m. You need everybody.”
The Lakers recorded 31 assists and had seven players score in double figures, led by Knecht’s 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting (4 for 10 from 3-point range) to go with eight rebounds. Knecht gave the Lakers an early spark, scoring 10 of their first 21 points as they opened a 21-16 advantage.
What followed was one of the Lakers’ most impressive performances of the season: they led for the rest of the game, by as many as 19 in the second half, to improve to 11-7.
“I’m very proud of our group,” Redick said. “The response was great. And it’s funny because it’s literally what I talked about with them before the game: you got to let go of the past. You got to let go of the recent past and you got to get on to the next thing.”
After struggling to finish at the rim early in the game, LeBron James finished with 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his sixth triple-double of the season. James, who shot 2 for 9 from the field and had four points in the first half, made his last four shots in the fourth quarter and finished 8 for 18.
With the Spurs double-teaming him all game, Anthony Davis finished with a season-high seven assists to go with 19 points and 14 rebounds.
“They were doubling off the passer,” Davis said. “As soon as I caught it there were two of them on my lap. Making the right reads, getting off the basketball and hitting the guys that’s open. Credit to these guys for making shots. They didn’t play one-on-one like they did the other time we were here. And I just tried to make the right reads.”
Rui Hachimura added 16 points and five assists, while Austin Reaves had 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. D’Angelo Russell (17 points, five assists, 3 for 6 from behind the arc) and Max Christie (12 points, four rebounds) made key contributions off the bench.
The Lakers led by as many as 15 points in the first half before San Antonio cut the deficit to eight. Reaves quelled the rally by hitting a 3-pointer over 7-foot-2 Victor Wembanyama as time expired in the first half, giving the Lakers a 58-47 lead.
After the Spurs cut the deficit to four points in the third quarter, Knecht tossed in a floater in the lane, stole a pass from Wembanyama and fired the ball downcourt to Davis for an uncontested dunk that put the Lakers up 73-63.
After allowing their opponents to score at least 30 points in 10 of their past 14 quarters going back to the second half of their Nov. 19 victory over the Utah Jazz, the Lakers held the Spurs below 30 in all but one quarter – a period the Lakers still won by four points after struggling to start the second half in their losses to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday and the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
The Spurs, who shot 42.4%, were led by Wembanyama (20 points, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots) but saw their four-game winning streak come to an end. Harrison Barnes added 19 points and Julian Champagnie scored 18.
The Lakers switched 1-5 defensively for most of the game, keeping the Spurs from outside of the paint and getting into the teeth of their defense.
“Just be physical,” Russell said. “I mean, our [switching] kind of got them in a position to shoot a bunch of jump shots. And all we got to do is rebound and make the game simple.”
The Lakers next host Oklahoma City on Friday in their NBA Cup Group Play finale.