Early on Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers got the bad news that Anthony Davis is expected to miss at least one month with a foot injury he sustained on Friday versus the Denver Nuggets.
Without him, the Lakers took on the Washington Wizards needing an all-hands-on-deck mindset.
They had multiple players step up offensively, which is exactly what they need while Davis is out. They built a 14-point lead at halftime, but unfortunately, their defense fell apart in the second half, as they allowed the Wizards to take a brief lead late in the fourth quarter.
With 23.1 seconds left in the game and the score tied at 117, LeBron James was working down the clock when former Laker Kyle Kuzma knocked the ball away. James recovered it, and in the ensuing scramble, he found Thomas Bryant underneath for the dunk that resulted in a 119-117 win.
The win wasn’t a work of art, but it was important in terms of stabilizing the team in the wake of Davis’ latest injury.
James has been rounding into shape lately very nicely after an uneven start to the season. He went 13-of-24 on Sunday and scored 33 points, to go along with nine assists and seven rebounds.
Just prior to his game-winning assist, James drove the middle and threw down a nasty dunk with 27.1 seconds left to give L.A. a 117-115 lead.
It will be important for the team to manage James’ workload while Davis is out. He played 37 minutes on Sunday, and it would be helpful if the Lakers get him down to about 32-35 minutes a game instead of the 36.2 minutes a game he was averaging coming into this contest.
Bryant got the start in place of Davis, and for the second straight game, he responded big time. He made 7-of-13 from the field, which included several dunks while grabbing 10 rebounds.
The former Wizards center also hit both of his 3-point attempts, which is an area of his area he hasn’t shown much of so far this season. While with the Wizards, he shot over 40 percent from downtown in back-to-back seasons.
Schroder looked to step up offensively in Davis’ absence. He took 12 shots, which was nearly a season-high, but unfortunately, he made just four of those shot attempts.
But the German native helped the Lakers most by getting seven assists while committing only one turnover in 30 minutes.
Reaves went 4-of-5 from the field and made both of his 3-point attempts to finish with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists,…
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