LOS ANGELES — The Lakers finish their home stand strong. They won their third straight game as they took care of business against the Indiana Pacers, 150-145. The 150 points was a season-best.
To start with, Spencer Dinwiddie (starting for D’Angelo Russell, who was a late scratch) continued his fire from last Friday’s game. And as I said in the preview, the Pacers were going to have a hard time stopping Anthony Davis. Still, we know Indy’s offense and they built a 25-17 lead. The Lakers were able to keep it within reach by the end of the quarter, 36-30.
After the Lakers took a 41-40 lead, the Pacers scored 9 straight to build back their lead. But the Lakers went on a run on their own as Rui Hachimura tied the game at 51 with a corner three. L.A. would take the lead with a three from Cam Reddish after a magical pass by Austin Reaves.
Reaves goes behind his head for the dime to Cam Reddish! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/40lIpmhqOY
— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 25, 2024
Taurean Prince got it going for a bit and kept the Lakers ahead. Pascal Siakam would cut the deficit to a 72-68 Laker lead by halftime.
In the third quarter, Spencer Dinwiddie started it with back-to-back threes. Both Dinwiddie and Reaves got it going and helped build the lead to double figs. The Lakers took better care of the ball and took advantage of the rare misses the Pacers had. Davis would finish the quarter strong and the Lakers had a 116-99 advantage.
But the fourth quarter is where the Pacers usually shine. Doug McDermott scored 8 points in a 17-7 start to the last stanza. The lead had been cut to 123-116. And then a bit later, Aaron Nesmith was able to make a three to cut the deficit to four. But the Lakers would have plenty of counters. LeBron made a corner three. Anthony Davis made a midrange J. And Austin Reaves came away with a swat that led to a LeBron lay-up.
The Pacers made it interesting with three deep three-pointers (two from Haliburton). But they couldn’t hit on their next possession. L.A. has won three in a row.
We knew it was going to be an offensive show but this was way more than I bargained for. The Lakers were plagued early with turnovers and the Indiana Pacers took advantage as they scored 19 points off 9 first half giveaways. After that, L.A. only had one turnover. Not wasting possessions pays off. The Lakers’ 150 points is the most since Jan. 2, 1987 when they scored 155 against the Suns.
Indy kept coming and coming. No surprise there; again, they are such a ridiculous offensive machine. But they did keep Tyrese Haliburton (12 points but 6 in the last 30 seconds) in check. And with Spencer playing the way he did on Sunday, it was a huge win on that part for the Lakers.
Pascal Siakam was hard to stop in the third. He scored 19 big points to keep the Pacers in the game. There was a reason why he was acquired and it was for big offensive spurts like that. His championship experience with Toronto will pay the Pacers dividends down the line.
The Lakers were also aggressive getting inside as they attempted an arm-drooping 43 free throws. It’s definitely a signature Laker game in that department.
L.A. was led by Anthony Davis with 36 points and 16 boards. LeBron James went for 26 points and 10 boards. And Spencer Dinwiddie had, by far, his best game as a Laker with 26 points. Austin Reaves and his 5 o’clock shadow had 25. As for Indiana, they had 8 players in double figures! Pascal Siakam had 36 points and 12 rebounds while T.J. McConnell scored 17.
Lakers have won three in a row but they’ll be on the road for 6 games (that’s more than half the schedule remaining!). It sounds daunting at the moment but taking it one game at a time would make it less intimidating.
Time to go on an expedition.
