LeBron James' Triple-Double Leads Anthony Davis, Lakers to Road Win vs. Spurs
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the San Antonio Spurs 103-96 at the AT&T Center on Sunday night in their first meeting of the 2019-20 NBA season.
What seemed like was going to be an easy victory for L.A. turned into a nail-biter. The Lakers led by 19 points in the third quarter only to see the lead dwindle to five by the end of the period.
However, Dwight Howard stepped up in the fourth quarter to keep San Antonio's comeback at bay. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year blocked a Dejounte Murray shot with just under two minutes left and L.A. clinging to a 99-92 lead and later grabbed the game-ending defensive rebound.
Howard scored 10 of the Lakers' 26 fourth-quarter points, while LeBron James' triple-double and Anthony Davis' double-double had mostly carried the offense to that point.
These two squads entered Saturday evening tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves atop the Western Conference.
The Lakers improved to 5-1 with the result and extended their early winning streak to five games after dropping their regular-season opener 112-102 to the Los Angeles Clippers. Meanwhile, the Spurs fell to 4-2. San Antonio won its first three games and has since dropped two of the last three.
Notable Stats
Lakers
SF LeBron James: 21 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
PF Anthony Davis: 25 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 blocks
PG Avery Bradley: 16 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
C Dwight Howard: 14 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: 14 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal
PF Kyle Kuzma: 5 points, 3 rebounds
Spurs
SF DeMar DeRozan: 14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block
PF LaMarcus Aldridge: 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
SF Rudy Gay: 16 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists
PG Dejounte Murray: 18 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
PG Derrick White: 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Lakers Defense Shuts Down Spurs
James and Davis executed excellently offensively, as expected, but it was the Lakers defense that separated the team from the Spurs.
L.A. entered Saturday night's matchup with the second-best defensive rating in the league (97.1) and needed every bit of it down the stretch as San Antonio trimmed the Lakers' 19-point lead to as few as five points by the third quarter's conclusion.
When the Lakers offense was lacking in the third, the defense picked up the slack:
Davis, who leads the NBA with 3.0 blocks per game, was particularly impressive with four blocks and two assists. James, meanwhile, passed Kobe Bryant by collecting his 1,945th career steal to rank 15th all time in league history.
The Spurs finished the contest having shot a meek 39.8 percent (33-of-83) from the field, including 24.0 percent from three (6-of-25).
Following the Lakers' 119-110 overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night, James detailed to reporters how that game unfolded in a way that remained true against the Spurs: "Offensively, we just couldn't make a shot to start the game. ... Just shots weren't going down, but the most important thing, we continued to defend. And that's what's always gonna keep us in the game."
San Antonio, averaging 116.2 points per game entering this contest, had only been held under 100 one other time this season—a 103-97 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 31.
The Lakers should feel good about their defensive performance overall, late Spurs surge aside. However, moving forward, the focus will shift to Avery Bradley's health. The veteran guard left the game prematurely with what the team described as a lower right leg injury.
Afterward, head coach Frank Vogel relayed that Bradley was "kicked around his knee area" but noted he's "fine," according to team reporter Mike Trudell.
ESPN's Dave McMenamin provided a separate update: "The Lakers say that X-rays on Bradley's leg came back negative. His status is day to day."
Bradley is a reliable defensive cog for L.A., so any absence would be a major blow to the unit in the early going of the season when forming chemistry is so important.
The most important engine for the defense, though, is James:
Dejounte Murray Nearly Leads Spurs to Comeback Win
Murray led the Spurs in points against the Lakers with 16 of his 18 coming in the fourth quarter.
It was Murray's layup that tied San Antonio and L.A. at 90 with just over four minutes remaining in regulation:
The 2016 first-rounder had taken off the Spurs' 127-110 win over Golden State on Friday because of load management, and he looked plenty rested down the stretch for an otherwise struggling San Antonio offense.
Once Derrick White replaced Murray with 1:45 left to go in the fourth and the Spurs trailing 100-92, San Antonio only scored four more points before the final buzzer.
Following the loss, head coach Gregg Popovich credited Murray while—in typical Pop form—noting what the 23-year-old can improve moving forward:
The fact that Murray is still finding his footing running the Spurs offense and the unit still ranks seventh in offensive rating is encouraging for San Antonio as the season unfolds.
What's Next?
The Spurs will travel to Atlanta to take on the Hawks on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The Lakers will wrap their two-game road trip at the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET.
