LOS ANGELES — The Lakers’ dance card is very nearly full again. The choreography might need a little work.
Running the pick-and-roll attack they’ve been refining for nearly four years, LeBron James and Anthony Davis seemed in lockstep zooming toward the rim – where defenses fear them the most. But as James threw a lob for his 6-foot-10 teammate, the timing was off: The pass bounced off the glass and Davis stumbled to the court, grinning bashfully.
The Lakers were far from a well-oiled machine on Wednesday night despite having a good deal of their parts finally in order. Their matchup with the San Antonio Spurs (14-34) was largely a back-and-forth tilt until the fourth quarter, when they finally asserted control for a 113-104 win.
But winning is winning. And though there were clear imperfections in victory, the Lakers (23-26) were able to feel some of the momentum of feeling whole once again – an important part of their push to get back into the playoff picture this season.
Davis had 21 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots in 26 minutes in his return from a 20-game layoff due to a right foot stress reaction. The Lakers also simultaneously debuted newly acquired Rui Hachimura, a sturdy 6-foot-8 forward who had 12 points, six rebounds and a handful of bright moments – including a few transition feeds from James.
James was one rebound shy of a triple-double, adding 20 points and 11 assists while sitting back as more of a play-maker than the top scoring threat with Davis back in the fold. Patrick Beverley scored a season-high 18 points, hitting three of the Lakers’ 10 3-pointers.
The Lakers withstood a Spurs team that took 16 more shots than they did, in part fueled by 20 turnovers. Keldon Johnson had 25 points to pace the Spurs.
In several key aspects, Davis picked back up quickly. After going 0 for 2 from the field in the first quarter, he caught a shooting rhythm and was 7 for 13 the rest of the night to go with a 6-for-7 showing from the free-throw line.
The fanbase’s sensitivity was tested in the third quarter, when Davis went up for a halfcourt heave and fell after the Spurs’ Zach Collins got in his landing space. Davis spilled to the ground and briefly clutched his right ankle – audible gasps erupted from the crowd. But the oft-injured star was quickly on his feet again and sank the three free throws he was awarded when Collins was hit with a flagrant foul.
The Spurs came into the game well behind the Western Conference pack in 14th place, losers of eight of their past 10 games – but under the coaching of Gregg Popovich, their standing belied their feistiness. It was the Spurs who looked fresh against the Lakers, who had finished a decisive loss to the Clippers less than 24 hours before.
The Lakers trailed 85-81 early in the fourth quarter before they took control with a 22-6 run over a span of nearly six minutes. Hachimura had six points during the spurt and James scored five.
A night after scoring 46 points in defeat, James was a little sluggish at the starting gun: He shook his head after missing a pair of first-quarter transition layups, and he missed his first four 3-point attempts (he had made a career-high nine against the Clippers). His team-high six turnovers were another sign of a dull edge – or perhaps just as much an indicator of the craftiness of San Antonio’s Tre Jones plucking four steals.
James’ scoring line brought him to within 158 points of passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA’s all-time scoring record (38,387 points). With his only 3-pointer of the night, James became the ninth-leading 3-point shooter in makes (2,222) in NBA history, passing Jamal Crawford.
The Lakers next head to Boston on Saturday to begin a five-game road trip with their next game at home scheduled for Feb. 7 against Oklahoma City.
More to come on this story.