With LeBron James still out as he continues to deal with his nagging adductor injury, the Lakers once again needed Anthony Davis to step up. And as has been a trend lately, he delivered, providing Los Angeles with the offensive punch the team needed to beat the Detroit Pistons, 128-121, as Dennis Schröder and Thomas Bryant both made their long-awaited returns to the lineup.
The Lakers got off to a bit of a slow start, taking an early lead before allowing a 17-4 Pistons run to surrender it right back and then some. But Bryant’s insertion in the second quarter for his season debut gave the team much-needed boosts of energy, enthusiasm and production, and the purple and gold rallied to retake the lead in the second quarter, culminating in a Lonnie Walker IV (who had 17 points of his own) buzzer-beater to put the team ahead 68-64 at halftime.
The third frame was basically the same story in reverse, with a strong opener by Los Angeles undone by some quarter-ending sloppiness.
LAL led 94-86 with 2:30 left in the 3rd quarter, before allowing a 9-2 run to close the period.
As such, they’re up by just 1 with 12 minutes to play.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) November 19, 2022
Leading the Lakers home, however, was once again Davis. The seven-footer imposed his will on the inexperienced Pistons frontline all game, teaming with Bryant to bully Detroit inside and get them in foul trouble, which Davis then took advantage of to draw free throw after free throw — and a few uncontested dunks — to close them out. Davis finished with a season-high 38 points to go with 16 rebounds and 4 blocks, offering up another reminder of how dominant he can look when he’s rolling.
Elsewhere in purple and gold, Austin Reaves hit a few key shots to help open up the lead in the fourth, flashing the craft and shotmaking he’s shown with increasing frequency this year to score 16 points. Schröder also provided a welcome boost in his return, picking up full court and irritating and delaying the young Pistons to slow them from getting into their offense. It certainly wasn’t his most effective night shooting the ball (1-5) but he showed some glimpses of how he can potentially help this team as he shakes the rust off.
This victory moves the Lakers to 4-10 on the season, and unlike their last break, the gap between tonight and their next game will be a short one, as the team will return to the Crypt on Sunday to host the Spurs for the first of three matchups with San Antonio in the next week as they look to extend their winning streak to three games. We’ll see you there.
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