Lakers shine in preseason win over Nets
LAS VEGAS — The Los Angeles Lakers impressed in their second preseason game in Las Vegas, securing a 129–126 victory against a youthful Brooklyn Nets team on Monday.
After sitting out in the Lakers' first preseason matchup against the Warriors for precautionary reasons, LeBron James and Austin Reaves returned to the starting lineup.
Head coach Darvin Ham made experimental changes in the second preseason game, with a starting lineup that featured D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Taurean Prince, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis (positions one through five).
The Lakers had eight players finish in double-digit scoring, with all five starters notching double-figures and the remaining three coming from the bench.
The big difference from last season and already in the first two games of the preseason is the Lakers' attempts from three. They attempted a total of 55 three-pointers, making 20 of them, resulting in a three-point shooting percentage of 36.4%.
“That’s one of our goals, but we don’t want to go crazy. We want to love and live in the paint,” said Ham on the attempts from three.
Rui Hachimura was the leading scorer with a strong first-half performance, scoring 14 points. He finished with 19 points on 57.1% (8-for-14) from the floor, adding five rebounds and one assist in 19 minutes.
Reaves got into a shooting battle with Nets guard Cam Thomas in the third, entertaining everyone at T-Mobile Arena and watching. The two exchanged three-point buckets on five straight possessions, ending with Reaves drawing the foul.
Reaves finished second on the team in scoring with 18 points on 4-for-6 shooting from deep and 5-for-7 finishing overall.
Russell continued his strong preseason, scoring 14 points and a perfect 4-for-4 from three in the first seven minutes. He finished the game with 14 points, six assists, and two steals in 16 minutes.
Davis showcased mid-season form in the Lakers win, showing confidence in his jump shot while being aggressive in open looks and let's not forget his shot-blocking, with three blocks on the night.
Davis concluded the night with 13 points and seven rebounds in 13 minutes of play. He made 1-of-3 attempts from beyond the arc and connected on 4-of-6 field goal attempts overall.
The insurgence of LeBron back into the lineup gave the Lakers a new boost with the addition of new weapons to their revamped roster. In the final seconds of the first half, LeBron set up an alley-oop for Jaxson Hayes with no time left.
LeBron finished with 10 points, five assists, and three rebounds in 16 minutes of action.
After fouling out in the first preseason game, Prince was one foul away from fouling out for the second straight game. Outside of his woes in foul trouble, with 11 fouls in two games, Prince had a solid performance in his first go in the starting unit. He concluded the game with 13 points, hitting 3-of-5 three-point attempts and connecting on 5-of-7 field goal attempts.
Christian Wood finished with 10 points, six rebounds and two steals in 21 minutes. Woods didn't connect on a three, going 0-for-3, while finishing 40% on 4-for-10 shooting overall.
The Lakers are scheduled to face the Sacramento Kings in their third preseason game at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
