Lakers survive past Pistons to snap three-game skid.
DETROIT — The Lakers survived in the final seconds in Detroit to beat the Pistons 124–117, behind a combined 69 points from LeBron James and Anthony Davis, snapping a three-game skid to improve their season record to 11–15.
“We stayed resilient and kept fighting,” said Anthony Davis after the Lakers' win.
Up two with under 20 seconds to go, the Lakers needed a bucket to give themselves enough breathing room for the victory, achieving just that with a clutch corner three from Austin Reaves to give the Lakers a five-point lead with 12.4 seconds left.
“I trust him. I love what he brings to the table both offensively and defensively,” said LeBron of what Austin Reaves brings to the Lakers.
After a strong first half, the Lakers were firing on all cylinders, limiting turnovers (4 in the first half), and staying out of foul trouble until their early-season (third quarter) struggles caught up with them in the third quarter.
The Lakers were outscored 41–30 in the 3rd quarter, behind a career-high 25 points scored in the 3rd quarter alone by Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic.
Fortunately for the Lakers, Bogdanovic was able to calm down in the fourth quarter, scoring only four points.
As a team, the Lakers shot 42% (11-for-26) from behind the arc and 55% (46-for-84) overall from the floor.
After a tough shooting night in Friday’s loss to the 76ers, Lebron James redeemed himself with a bounce-back outing, starting the first half on fire with 19 points.
“We started off the trip so well then we had injuries and illnesses, and it kind of threw our rhythm off, but we were able to finish the trip off .500," said LeBron on the Lakers' final six-game road trip.
LeBron finished with a game-high 35 points on 56% (14-for-25) shooting from the floor, adding 5 rebounds and 5 assists in his 36 minutes of action.
Anthony Davis notched his 17th double-double of the season in Sunday’s win over the Pistons, finishing with 34 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and a block in 35 minutes.
“It was a must-win for us. We knew that. I lost a game for us in Philly. We considered this a successful trip,” said Davis on tonight’s win and their overall record on the six-game road trip.
Austin Reaves continued to show the Lakers coaching staff how valuable he is in the rotation and in late-game minutes, showing how much trust he has from his teammates LeBron and AD.
“You know when you’re playing with [LeBron], he’s going to make the right basketball play,” said Reaves of the pass he got from LeBron, who drew the defense for his clutch corner three.
Reaves finished the night with 9 points on 3-for-5 shooting from three, notching 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in 28 minutes.
The Lakers will return home from their six-game road trip this Tuesday in a must-see rivalry matchup against the 21-5 Boston Celtics on TNT.
