The Lake Show took on the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night, looking to win their third straight game. They would have to do so without their best three point shooter D’Angelo Russell, who was out with a non-covid illness.
The key for the purple and gold would be knocking down their wide-open threes and making sure they attack the paint.
The Lakers were able to feed the ball into Anthony Davis while getting Spencer Dinwiddie involved, who had 12 points off of 4 for 6 shooting in the first half.
While displeased with their defensive display, the Lakers were able to take a 68-72 lead into the half. A win was imminent if they were able to limit turnovers and get timely stops.
Dinwiddie opened up the third quarter hitting back-to-back threes and inspired the Lakers to an offensive surge. Austin Reeves was able to drive to the basket at will, while grabbing a few threes in the process. Reeves had 11 points and was able to nullify Pascal’s loud 19 in the third.
The Lakers were able to take a 17-point lead into the final period, but allowed the Pacers to claw their way back to a 7-point deficit with 8 minutes left in the game. The lead hovered at 5 until the 3:30 mark, when a LeBron James three and Davis lay-up halted the Pacer run.
With Indiana on the brink of a comeback, they eventually ran out of time when an AD floater put the Lakers up by 8 with under a minute remaining.
Although the Pacers made the game interesting playing the foul game early, the Lakers went on to win 150-145, scoring their most-ever points against their Eastern Conference rival. This was also the first time they met the 150 mark since 1987.
Dinwiddie finished with a season-high 26 points and spoke about his role of filling Russell’s shoes. “I had a more familiar position with the ball in my hands, I think in my career I’ve been able to be adaptable.”
Dinwiddie is more than capable of carrying the offensive load for a team, and will be a valuable asset going forward no matter what role he is in.
The brow was also able to put a dominant performance together, setting the tone early scoring 36 points along with 16 boards. AD remains the bread and butter of this Laker offense and will continue to be the reason the Lakers make any noise in the West.
Los Angeles has won eight of their last 12 and will take a three-game win streak onto their road trip. Their first matchup of the 6-game trip will be against the Milwaukee Bucks, a team who is competing for a top seed in the Eastern Conference.
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