It was not the best game, but it was a soothing victory. The Los Angeles Lakers reached ten wins this season after beating the Pacers in Indiana this morning (116-124). And they did it after spending three quarters chasing their rival on the scoreboard and after an extension in which the figure of the King emerged.
LeBron James was capital for the Angelenos to regain 50% of victories, after having overcome his penalty game for the flagrant type 2 he received against the Detroit Pistons after elbowing Isaiah Stewart. The duel against New York Knicks was the first in his career in not being able to dispute it due to suspension. We are talking about 19 seasons and 1,318 games played to the elbow in MoTown.
Great extension
James emerged in overtime like a cyclone. With Anthony Davis out of the game due to illness, LeBron took full responsibility in the last five minutes – he scored 8 of his team’s 12 points. There were two triples and a beautiful reverse basket that placed the duel from a tight tie to 114 To Unreachable 116-121 when there were only 41 seconds left to finish. He finished with 39 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks. Since last January 25, he did not exceed 38 against the Cleveland Cavaliers and it is the third time this season (9 games) that he has scored 30 or more goals. “I knew I could give our guys a boost of energy if I didn’t play last night,” LeBron said after the game.
Despite their good performance, the Lakers suffered excessively against a rival that neither hot nor cold, anchored at the bottom of the table with a balance of 8-12. They showed character and resources with seven players with ten or more points (Brogdon reached 28), but a rotation that today seemed very short of only nine players.