The Pacers dominated the Lakers for the majority of Thursday night, but L.A. used a defibrillator in the fourth quarter to resurrect the road trip with a victory.
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A strong fourth-quarter rally helped the Lakers defeat the Indiana Pacers, 112-111, winning their second straight game. On their East Coast road trip, they are now 2-2. For the victory, Anthony Davis was essential. He is completely recovered and dominated with 31 points and 14 rebounds, including a pivotal basket to give the Lakers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish and a block to keep them there.
He demonstrated why he has been an All-Star. LeBron James took some time to get going, but he had an incredible fourth quarter and finished the game with 26 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds. How the 20-year veteran can make an outstanding performance seem like just another game is simply amazing.
The Lakers are currently 25-28, and if the New Orleans Pelicans lose to the Dallas Mavericks tonight, they will be able to catch up to their conference foe and qualify for the play-in round with a victory over New Orleans on Saturday.
On each end, the first 12 minutes weren’t great for the purple and gold. Unfortunately for them, the Pacers were shooting spectacularly in the first period, going 7-13 from beyond the arc. They had excellent shooters like Buddy Hield and Tyrese Haliburton, which contributes to some of this; on the other hand, their defense was weak.
Going beneath screens, failing to engage shooters, and bad rotations offered Indianapolis open looks, and they made Los Angeles pay. By the conclusion of the quarter, the gap had shrunk to five from a peak of 13. Watch the match highlights below.
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The first half continued in the same manner. Ham had to take a timeout to try to stop Indiana’s momentum as Hield kept making three-pointers and Myles Turner made a long shot. A clear illustration of how poor the Lakers’ perimeter defense had been all night came in the last seconds of the half.
When a pass was made from the corner to the wing, AD took a stride forward but chose not to challenge it as he attempted to recover on defense. A three by Andrew Nembhard was the outcome. Rui closed out too tightly on the following possession, fouling Aaron Nesmith, and giving him a four-point play.
The Lakers were down by ten at the break. The Lakers were renowned for crumbling in the third quarter earlier in the season, but lately, that has not happened.
Tonight, though, they were unable to generate any attacking momentum in the third. Russ was bad.
He was unintentionally forcing terrible shoots, turning the ball over, and getting denied around the basket. Only AD was a bright light, with many putbacks and clean-ups around the basket.
But, believe it or not, Los Angeles came back into the game in the fourth. With just over two minutes remaining, LeBron made a three-pointer to give the Lakers their first lead of the game, and they were very much in it. The Lakers took control of the game after a pair of James free throws, an AD runner, and a crucial defensive block by Davis. Naturally, the game could not finish peacefully.
