LOS ANGELES — — Anthony Davis had 36 points and 16 rebounds, LeBron James added 26 points and 10 assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers posted their franchise’s highest score in 37 years in a 150-145 victory against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. night.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 26 points in his biggest offensive game since joining the Lakers, who have won three in a row and five of seven. Los Angeles led 116-99 early in the fourth quarter, but the Indiana cut the lead to three points while scoring 46 points in the final period.
Los Angeles held on, scoring 10 points in the final minute, including six free throws from Austin Reaves, who finished with 25 points, the best performance by this 17-time NBA champion team since January 2, 1987.
“We played them in the championship (In-Season Tournament) and we know how strong they are offensively,” James said. “They’ll never stop playing no matter how far they go or how far they go. We’re on the rise, so it’s a good win for us.
All-Star Tyrese Haliburton woke up from a quiet 12-point performance to make two 3-pointers in the final seconds, cutting the Lakers’ lead to three points with 20 seconds left. LA survived when Dinwiddie made a free throw and Haliburton missed a 3 before Cam Reddish stole Doug McDermott’s pass with three seconds left.
“We allowed them to score 145 points, so … it was terrible defensively,” Davis said. “They made some shots towards the end, but we can do what we want offensively, as you saw tonight. But we have to defend, especially when we have a (difficulty) team like this. We don’t need to give them life, but at this point in the season, a win is a win. We will accept it, but we must also learn from it.
Indiana coach Rick Carlisle was annoyed after the Lakers shot 43 free throws to the Pacers’ 16, while Indiana was booked for 31 fouls to Los Angeles’ 14.
“I thought our guys really fought in this game,” Carlisle said. “There were just some things that were impossible to overcome. A 27 free throw differential is one, and a 17 foul differential is the other.
Pascal Siakam scored 19 of his 36 points in the third quarter for the Pacers, who fell to 2-1 on their five-game road trip after playing dismal defense in the second and third quarters, allowing 86 points to Los Angeles. Myles Turner added 20 points and TJ McConnell had 17 for the Pacers, who had eight double-digit scorers.
“Sometimes when you’re faced with tough challenges, it’s easy to put your head down and just say, ‘Hey, this isn’t our night,’ but our guys don’t do that,” Carlisle said. “Our second unit fought in the second half. In the last five minutes the first unit came back and they struggled to stay in the game. At some point you have to play absolutely perfectly, and it was going to be very, very difficult.
Dinwiddie stepped in as the Lakers won for the first time in six games this season without sharpshooter D’Angelo Russell, who was out with a non-COVID-related illness.
The offensive fireworks were no surprise in this game. When the Pacers last visited the Lakers in November 2022, they rallied from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter before Andrew Nembhard made a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a stunning 116-115 victory.
The teams met for the first time since the Lakers beat the Pacers 123-109 in Las Vegas to win the inaugural In-Season Tournament last December. The Lakers, who play at Indiana on Friday, fell 3-10 immediately after hoisting that trophy, and they have failed to move higher than ninth in the Western Conference despite going 22-13 since that skid. .
Russell’s absence and the Pacers’ fast play gave the Lakers problems early, but Davis had 15 points and nine rebounds in the first half to stay close. The Lakers scored a season-high 116 points in three quarters, but Siakam kept Indiana alone.
Most members of the Argentine national soccer team attended the match ahead of Albiceleste’s exhibition match at the Coliseum on Tuesday.
FOLLOWING
Pacers: At the Los Angeles Clippers Monday night.
Lakers: At Milwaukee Tuesday night.
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