The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Detroit Pistons 124-117 on Sunday night thanks to 35 points from LeBron James and 34 points and 15 rebounds from Anthony Davis.
We needed to win in order for our road trip to be successful, Davis said, adding that we needed to finish at least.500. “The final game is often the most difficult to win.”
As the Lakers overcome Bojan Bogdanovic’s 38 points to snap a three-game losing run, Davis added seven assists. For Los Angeles, Lonnie Walker IV added 18 points, while Russell Westbrook scored 11 points and dished out nine assists.
LeBron definitely came in focused on finishing the game properly, according to Lakers coach Darvin Ham. He was leading the attack and wouldn’t let this game slip away.
Jaden Ivey, a rookie, led Detroit with 16 points. The Pistons have dropped three straight games.
Coach Dwane Casey of the Pistons stated, “There are many things you can’t control in a game — they came in shooting 28% on threes and they made 42% tonight — but we have to become better at the other things. We can regulate boxing out and understanding rotations, but we lose focus when we become engrossed in the game.
Bogdanovic scored a career-high 25 points in the third quarter to help the Pistons get back into the game after the Lakers had led 61-49 at the half. The Lakers went into the fourth quarter with a 91-90 advantage thanks to 17 points from Davis.
Bogdanovic stated, “We battled all night, but I think we made too many mistakes in the first half. “Your defense is broken because we must have given them ten easy back-door layups and dunks.”
With one minute remaining, Alec Burks made a score to bring Detroit within 119-115, and Bogdanovic’s jumper with 35 seconds left made it 119-117.
With 12.4 seconds left, James, who had scored 13 points in the fourth, raced down the lane, beat the shot clock, and flipped to an open Austin Reaves for a baseline 3-pointer.
Reaves remarked, “When you play alongside him, you know he’s always going to make the perfect basketball play. It gives me more confidence to know that he believes in me enough to take that shot.
Casey’s crew made yet another crucial error, leaving him shaking his head.
I don’t even know who it was, but our strong corner defender helped into the lane on LeBron, the player stated. “No, you can’t. You must comprehend the circumstances. We can live with it if we miss a basket at the rim, but you can’t miss a three at that moment.”
TIP-INS
Lakers: At Detroit’s previous arena, the Palace of Auburn Hills, James, and Davis gave two of their most famous performances. In Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, James scored 48 points, including the final 25 for Cleveland. On Feb. 21, 2016, Davis had 59 points and 20 rebounds to help the Pelicans defeat the Pistons 111-106.
Pistons: In his second start, rookie Jalen Duran made his only field goal attempt and finished with three points and 13 rebounds in 23:42.
LAKERS VS. CELTICS
Ham was left scratching his head over his memories of the two teams competing as the Lakers prepared to meet Boston in the NBA’s most storied rivalry.
Ham, who grew up approximately 90 minutes north of Detroit and won the 2004 NBA championship with the Pistons against the Lakers, said, “I despised both those teams. We detested the Bulls, Celtics, and Lakers.
