LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Lakers Lose to Nets Despite Kyrie Irving's Injury
The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 114-111 in a preseason clash at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, on Thursday, marking the first of two preseason meetings between the teams in the world's most populous country.
After Theo Pinson made one of two free throws and David Nwaba slammed home a dunk for the Nets, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed a game-tying three for L.A. at the buzzer.
There was some uncertainty regarding the status of the game after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey's tweet about Hong Kong last week led to some backlash from China against the NBA, but the contest went off without a hitch.
With the focus on basketball, the superstar duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis led the way for the Lakers again after impressing in the team's preseason debut against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Nets guard Kyrie Irving's preseason debut for the team was cut short after only one minute when he took a shot to the face from Lakers guard Rajon Rondo. Irving donned a mask after suffering a facial fracture prior to training camp.
Kevin Durant did not play for Brooklyn as he continues to recover from a torn Achilles suffered during the 2019 NBA Finals.
Notable Stats
LeBron James (LAL): 7-of-15 FG, 20 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST in 25 MIN
Anthony Davis (LAL): 4-of-10 FG, 16 PTS, 5 AST, 2 REB, 2 BLK in 25 MIN
Rajon Rondo (LAL): 7-of-13 FG, 18 PTS, 6 AST, 5 REB in 24 MIN
Spencer Dinwiddie (BKN): 6-of-14 FG, 20 PTS, 7 AST, 4 REB in 24 MIN
Taurean Prince (BKN): 6-of-11 FG, 18 PTS, 3 REB in 24 MIN
Dzanan Musa (BKN): 6-of-10 FG, 16 PTS, 2 STL in 22 MIN
Kyrie Irving Caris LeVert (BKN): 0 PTS in 2 combined MIN
LeBron, AD Shine Again for Lakers
LeBron was especially sharp and looked to be in midseason form, as he scored from all levels and showed off his versatility:
It wasn't a perfect outing for James, though, as he was once again rejected by Nets center Jarrett Allen, who made headlines by stuffing a LeBron dunk attempt last season as well:
Davis did most of his damage around the basket Thursday, as the Nets had no consistent answer:
As Daniel Starkand of Lakers Nation pointed out, putting the much smaller Taurean Prince on AD early did not work out:
Davis wasn't overly efficient, but he got to the free-throw line early and often, finishing 8-of-9.
The Nets played most of the game without many of their biggest stars. With Durant on the shelf, Irving and Caris LeVert were expected to lead the way. LeVert played just one minute before exiting when he got poked in the eye, though, and Kyrie left after only one minute as well.
Irving took Rondo's shoulder to his masked face, and the Nets took no chances by lifting him from the game:
Brian Lewis of the New York Post noted that Irving appeared to be frustrated as he made his way off the court:
With two of Brooklyn's top guards playing a combined two minutes, it left the door open for Spencer Dinwiddie to play big minutes off the bench, and he finished as the Nets' leading scorer thanks to shots like this fadeaway:
He also went 3-of-6 from three and was one of six Nets players to make multiple three-pointers.
Brooklyn shot 48.8 percent from long range as a team on 41 attempts, and with James and Davis sitting much of the second half, that was the biggest difference between the teams (L.A. shot 39.3 percent from three on 28 attempts).
What's Next?
The Lakers and Nets will meet one more time overseas Saturday at 7:30 a.m. ET when they lock horns at Shenzhen Universiade Centre in Shenzhen, China.
