Anthony Davis had 36 points and 16 rebounds, LeBron James added 26 points and ten assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers produced their franchise’s highest-scoring performance in 37 years in a 150-145 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 26 points in his biggest offensive game since joining the Lakers, who have won three straight and five of seven. Los Angeles led 116-99 entering the fourth quarter, but Indiana closed the gap to three points down the stretch while putting up a 46-point final period.
Los Angeles held on by scoring 10 points in the final minute, including six free throws by Austin Reaves, who finished with 25 points. This is the highest-scoring performance by this 17-time NBA champion team since Jan. 2, 1987.
“We played them in the (In-Season Tournament) championship, and we know how high-powered an offense they are,” James said. “They’re never going to stop playing no matter how far they get down or how far they’re up, so it’s a good win for us.”
All-Star Tyrese Haliburton awoke from a quiet 12-point performance to hit two 3-pointers in the final seconds, trimming the Lakers’ lead to three points with 20 seconds to play. LA survived when Dinwiddie made one free throw, and Haliburton missed a three before Cam Reddish stole Doug McDermott’s pass with three seconds left.
“I thought our guys battled in this game,” Carlisle said. “There were just certain 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 dropped to 2-1 on their five-game road trip after playing dismal defense in the second and third quarters, allowing Los Angeles to score 86 points. Myles Turner added 20 points, and TJ McConnell had 17 points for the Pacers, who had eight double-digit scorers.
“Sometimes when you have difficult challenges, it’s easy to drop your head and just say, ‘Hey, it’s not our night,’ but our guys don’t do that,” Carlisle said. “Our second unit battled in the second half. During that last five-minute stretch, the first unit returned in, and they were defiant about hanging in the game. At a certain point, you’ve got to play perfectly, and that would be very difficult.”
Dinwiddie stepped up while the Lakers won for the first time in six games this season without sharpshooting guard D’Angelo Russell, who was out with a non-COVID illness.
Source: AP
