Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook Lead Lakers Past Spurs Without LeBron James
Rob Goldberg@@TheRobGoldberg
Featured Columnist IVOctober 27, 2021
The Los Angeles Lakers didn't need LeBron James to earn a 125-121 overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs.
James was unavailable because of an ankle injury, but Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis picked up the slack with a combined 68 points in Tuesday's road game at the AT&T Center.
San Antonio led by 12 after the third quarter, but the Lakers stormed back with a 29-17 advantage in the fourth quarter.
Malik Monk came up big to put Los Angeles in front in the final minute:
Though Keita Bates-Diop sent the game into overtime, Westbrook came up big in the extra session for Los Angeles:
It was enough to pull away for the team's second straight win to move to 2-2.
Dejounte Murray led the way for the Spurs with a triple-double, while Jakob Poeltl set a career high with 27 points, but it wasn't enough to prevent them from falling to 1-3 on the year.
Notable Performances
Anthony Davis, PF, LAL: 35 points, 17 rebounds, 4 blocks
Russell Westbrook, PG, LAL: 33 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists
Malik Monk, SG, LAL: 17 points, 3 assists
Dejounte Murray, PG, SAS: 21 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks
Jakob Poeltl, C, SAS: 27 points, 14 rebounds, 13-17 FG
Lonnie Walker IV, SG, SAS: 21 points, 6 assists
Russell Westbrook Shows His Value in Win
With James not on the court, Westbrook got his chance to shine for the Lakers.
The nine-time All-Star has had a slow start to the season but looked the part Tuesday. Westbrook was aggressive offensively while scoring a season-high 33 points, and he contributed in a lot of ways:
Westbrook had a solid connection with Davis in this one as well:
The two stars did their part to keep the Lakers competitive without a lot of help around them.
Los Angeles finished 8-of-30 from three-point range while also struggling with turnovers and rebounding.
Westbrook and Davis still did enough to lead the team to a hard-fought victory.
Offensive Balance Makes Spurs a Threat
The Spurs don't have one go-to offensive weapon, but the team has a lot of ways to score.
Murray filled up the stat sheet with his fifth career triple-double, adding two blocks and two steals for an all-around dominant effort.
Poeltl then came through with the best night of his career:
Devin Vassell and Lonnie Walker IV were also impressive Tuesday with their shooting off the bench in the second half:
The backcourt duo went a combined 10-of-16 from three-point range, while each finished at least plus-10 on the court.
When the shots weren't falling in the first half, the squad excelled at turning defense into offense:
The Spurs finished the game with 29 fast-break points.
This is a team that doesn't scare most teams on paper, but it already has four different leading scorers in four games with several more players who can go off at any time.
What's Next?
The Lakers are back in action Wednesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs will go on the road on Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks.