Lonzo Ball's Strong Play Pushes Streaking Lakers to Tight Win over Spurs

Lonzo Ball flirted with a triple-double, and the Los Angeles Lakers extended their winning streak to five games as they defeated the San Antonio Spurs, 116-112, at AT&T Center on Saturday night.

Ball finished with 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, and he continued to flash an improved three-point stroke as he drilled a pair of clutch triples with under 90 seconds remaining to push the Purple and Gold to 28-34 on the season.

Lonzo Has the Ratchet

All told, 2017's No. 2 overall pick drilled a career-high six threes as each one of his conversions came from beyond the arc. FiveThirtyEight's Chris Herring liked what he saw: 

Ball also fed Julius Randle for a smooth finish at the rim that put the Lakers up five with 10.1 seconds to play.

Above all else, the performance represented another major step forward for Ball—who has been scalding hot from distance since returning from a sprained MCL.

Dating back to Feb. 23, Ball has splashed 14 of his 22 long-range attempts (64 percent) while boasting far more poise in catch-and-shoot situations.

The numbers bear that out.

According to NBA.com's player-tracking data, Ball entered the showdown against San Antonio having canned 45.9 percent of his catch-and-shoot attempts from distance since Jan. 1.

Following Saturday's win, that figure only stands to rise.

"I probably have as much confidence in him as anyone taking a three-point shot," head coach Luke Walton said after the win, according to the team's official Twitter account.

With their four-game road swing a thing of the past, the Lakers will head back to Southern California and prepare to host the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday at Staples Center.