The Los Angeles Lakers got out to a sizable lead on Friday against the San Antonio Spurs after an opening flurry by rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama. It looked like they were on their way to an easy victory against the worst team in the Western Conference.
But after their lead got as high as 15 points in the third quarter, they saw it shrink to three points late in the period. The Lakers seemed bored at times, but they still managed to claim a 123-118 victory.
Anthony Davis, as usual, was outstanding with 28 points and 13 rebounds. Yet there was something unusual about his outing: He didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter, while LeBron James played the majority of the period.
Head coach Darvin Ham explained why Davis didn’t get back onto the court after the third quarter.
“We felt we had a pretty good grip on the game,” Ham said. “We made a surge with him on the sideline and we were just hoping, had our fingers crossed, that we could continue to put points on the board and get stops so we wouldn’t have to drag him back out there. I think it was great for him to be able to sit over there knowing the next stretch of games we have coming up.”
Los Angeles led 97-93 after Malaki Branham hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter and appeared to be in a bit of trouble. But over the next two minutes and change, it went on a 13-3 run, which turned the rest of the period into garbage time.
The Lakers do have some difficult games coming up. Early Sunday afternoon, they will make a quick trip to Arizona to face the Phoenix Suns, who have won 14 of their last 20 games. They will then play the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday before hosting the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Saturday, March 2.
Getting James and Davis as much rest as possible without jeopardizing the team will benefit L.A. moving forward and in the long run.
