Lakers seal the win with last-second steal vs the Pacers.
After finishing 2–8 in the last ten games before the All-Star break, the Lakers were able to seal the deal at home tonight with a 105–100 win over the Indiana Pacers after a last-second steal from Lakers Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The Lakers were up by 3 points with 10 seconds left when Caldwell-Pope stoled the ball on inbounds that sealed the win for the Lakers. With tonight’s victory over the Pacers, the Lakers moved their record to 25–13 on the season and still remain in 3rd place in the Western Conference behind the 28–9 Utah Jazz and 25–11 Phoenix Suns.
The Lakers were able to hold the Pacers to 21 points in the 4th quarter tonight and disrupt every shot they took forcing them to shoot 22% (8–36) from the perimeter tonight. One area the Lakers struggled with tonight was stopping Malcolm Brogdon in the first half. Brogdon finished with 23 points in the first half with 18 of those points coming in the first quarter. The Lakers adjusted very well in the second half holding the first half hot hand Brogdon to only 6 total points in the 2nd half of tonight’s ball game.
The Lakers are going to be without All-Star forward Anthony Davis as It was reported before tonight’s game that Davis is to be re-evaluated on his calf in two weeks. Frank Vogel spoke to the media about the new status of Anthony Davis’ being re-evaluated in 2 weeks:
“We’ll be patient and we’ll continue to win games. We’ll all be excited when he’s able to get back.”
With Davis looking to be out for the next 2 weeks the Lakers are going to need players to step up in his place and one of those players is Kyle Kuzma. Kyle Kuzma was cooking tonight, especially in the 4th quarter, scoring 15 of his 24 points in the 4th. On the night Kuzma finished with a Lakers high 24 points, 13 rebounds, and shot 3–6 (50%) from the three-point arc and 8–18 (44%) overall. After finishing with a double-double of 24 and 13 tonight, this is the 10th time this season Kuzma has accomplished that feat. Lakers shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope spoke about the maturity and improvement Kyle Kuzma has had in his tenure in a Laker uniform since a rookie saying:
“He’s grown a lot being more aggressive on the offensive end, crashing the glass being in the right position, and getting rebounds. He’s playing with great energy, and we need that from him.”
After coming back from the all-star break and his 17 straight All-Star appearances, LeBron James had a quiet but still deadly effective night for this Lakers team helping them win the first game of the 2nd half of the season. In 34 minutes tonight, LeBron James finished second for the Lakers in scoring with 18 points, 10 assists, and finished 7–11 (64%) from the free-throw line and 5–13 (38%) overall from the field.
The Lakers had a season-high in free throws attempted and made tonight, finishing with a whopping 30–39 (77%) from the foul line. The Laker were able to get a great surge from their bench tonight as they finished with 54 points. A big part of this huge spark from the bench was from players Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell.
Montrezl Harrell has been such a vital piece to the Lakers success this season consistently providing the Lakers with contagious energy from the bench throughout the season. In 32 minutes, Harrell finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, and finished 8–13 (61%) from the field goal in tonight’s victory. LeBron James spoke on the impact Montrezl Harrell had tonight saying:
“We all had to step up tonight and Trez did that tonight on both ends. He’s getting better and better every single game and we’re going to continue to need his energy and effort on both ends of the floor.”
Alex Caruso left the 2nd quarter of tonight’s win over the Pacers after taking a hard fall hitting his head on the floor after colliding with Pacers Justin Holiday. Caruso suffered a head contusion and did not return. His status is still unclear as the Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said after the game that Caruso has not yet been evaluated.
The Lakers will travel to the Bay to face the Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors this Monday as they matchup for the 3rd time this season. The Lakers will look to continue their momentum with tonight’s win over the Pacers into Monday’s matchup against the Warriors.