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The Los Angeles Lakers went back to enjoying home cooking on Tuesday with an easy 129-102 win over the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center. The Lakers haven’t won at home since Jan. 13.
The Lakers were in control of the game from the start, but they really blew the game open in the fourth quarter thanks to LeBron James. In the first five minutes of the frame, James drained five 3-pointers. He ended the night with a game-high 36 points on 12-20 shooting from the field, including 6-9 shooting from behind the arc, to go along with 9 assists and 7 rebounds.
LeBron James is 35 years old.
The Lakers also got it done on the defensive end. In recent years, they haven’t had an answer for LaMarcus Aldridge, one of the league’s deadliest scorers in the mid post. This season, they have an answer for virtually every big man in the league, and his name is Anthony Davis.
Not only did Davis get it done on offense, scoring 18 points on 8-12 shooting from the field, but he played a huge role in holding LaMarcus Aldridge to 7 points, including 5 points in the first half. Add in JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard’s combined 26 points, and the Lakers got some pretty good production from their big men on Tuesday.
Lastly, Kyle Kuzma deserves credit for how he played against the Spurs. Yes, Kuzma finally got his shots to fall at an efficient clip, scoring 18 points on 7-10 shooting from the field, but he was also just playing really hard, and his team-high 12 rebounds were a good reflection of that.
With a win against the Spurs, the Lakers improve to 38-11 on the season, 3.5 games ahead of the No. 2 seed LA Clippers. The Lakers will be back at it on Thursday — the night of the NBA trade deadline — to take on another Texas team, the Houston Rockets.
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