The Lakers went into their Sunday afternoon game against the San Antonio Spurs with a sense of urgency following a humiliating blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Staples Center on Friday, a setback that prompted Anthony Davis to blast his team in postgame comments L.A. laboured to put away the Spurs, but won for the first time in over a week, defeating San Antonio 114-106 to improve to 8-6 on the season.
Davis, who began at the centre, led the way with 27 points in the first half, a new season-high for a Laker in a single half. He finished with 34 points on 14-24 shooting, 15 rebounds, and 6 assists, confirming the edge he showed following Friday’s setback. Davis did not have as many opportunities in the second half because the Spurs frequently sent a double team his way, but he still helped facilitate the offence, and the attention he garnered helped guys like Malik Monk and Wayne Ellington open up three-pointers. Off the bench, Monk and Ellington both offered a significant scoring boost, Ellington had the type of game Lakers were hoping for when they brought him back, going 5 of 8 from the field with all the 5 makes coming in as 3 pointers.
Frank Vogel finally made a change in the starting lineup, replacing Kent Bazemore, DeAndre Jordan, and the injured LeBron James with Avery Bradley, Carmelo Anthony, and Talen Horton-Tucker, who made his season debut after missing the previous two seasons due to a thumb injury. The 20-year-old made an immediate impact on both sides of the floor, as several of his trademark acrobatic basket finishes came after the Spurs had cut their advantage to a single possession late in the fourth quarter, and his defence kept San Antonio slightly off balance when he was on the court. He shot 7-14 from the field for 17 points.
Total Team Win @AntDavis23: 34 pts, 15 reb, 6 ast@Thortontucker: 17 pts@AhmadMonk: 16 pts@WayneEllington: 15 pts (5/7 3P) @carmeloanthony: 15 pts@russwest44: 14 pts, 11 reb, 7 ast
https://t.co/8ZMzel5YFx— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 15, 2021
