Lakers drop short-handed Nets in Davis' return.
The Lakers defeated the short-handed Nets in a strong defensive effort, beating Brooklyn 106–96 in Davis’ return to the lineup, moving their season record back to .500 at 24–24.
On a night where the Lakers welcomed Anthony Davis back in the lineup from an MCL sprain, the Lakers defense had a huge boost it was missing, forcing the Nets to commit 18 turnovers as the Lakers finished the night with a team total of 12 steals and 9 blocks.
In Davis’ return to the Laker lineup, he finished with just 8 points in 24 minutes on 37% shooting overall, giving the Lakers a solid defensive presence ending the night with four blocks for LA.
After the game, Davis was asked how he felt after tonight’s game, saying: “he felt ready” later, being asked about minute restrictions from his MCL sprain, saying: “I don’t know about the whole minute restriction thing. For me, I don’t need that. I feel like if I have to babysit it, I shouldn’t be on the floor.”
In his 18th straight game to lead the Lakers in scoring, LeBron James had himself another impressive night, finishing the night with a game-high 33 points on 67% (14-for-21) shooting, adding 7 rebounds and 6 assists in 34 mins.
On a solid night on the defensive end, where LeBron had a sequence of back-to-back steals that lead to back-to-back breakaway dunks, spoke on his general approach on defense, and with steals, saying: “I’ve never been a gambler, I’ve always tried to be as solid as possible.” If he sees a clear opening to gamble a steal, he’ll take it, especially with Davis back in the lineup.
Despite his five turnovers, Russell Westbrook had a solid outing quarterbacking the Lakers offense in tonight’s matchup, finishing the night with 15 points on 50% (7-for-14) shooting overall, adding 6 rebounds and 4 assists in 32 minutes of action.
Westbrook was asked about the importance of having Davis back in the lineup, saying: “I think him coming back was good energy for our team, especially coming off a loss.”
The Lakers’ next matchup comes on a road against the 27–19 Philadelphia 76ers in the first night of back-to-back road games in the middle point of a six-game road trip.