Late in the third quarter of Tuesday’s play-in tournament game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Los Angeles Lakers fell behind by 15, and almost all looked lost.
But they chipped away at that deficit by ratcheting up their defense and riding their two superstars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Down the stretch, Dennis Schroder emerged as another hero.
He scored seven straight points to start the Lakers’ rally in the third period, and with 1.4 seconds left in the fourth quarter, he hit an open 3-pointer to put them up 98-95.
It looked like they would win on that shot, but Davis committed an ill-advised foul on the Timberwolves’ Mike Conley while he attempted a 3-pointer, leading to him forcing overtime with three free throws.
Luckily, L.A. prevailed in overtime, 108-102, and afterward, James joked that Davis prevented Schroder’s big trey from ending up as the game-winner.
"AD had a brainfart and messed his game-winner up."
LeBron James blamed Anthony Davis for sending the game to overtime, nullifying Dennis Schroder's regulation go-ahead bucket 😅pic.twitter.com/IqPgW3dCax
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 12, 2023
Overall, Davis played well, even if he didn’t have a big night offensively. He shot 10-of-19 and grabbed 15 rebounds while adding four assists, three blocked shots and two steals. Schroder, meanwhile, was a catalyst off the bench with 24 points.
The Lakers move on to the NBA playoffs and face the young and chippy Memphis Grizzlies in the first round. They may not be favored versus Ja Morant and crew, but they will have a real shot at winning if they continue to show the type of energy and hustle they had down the stretch of Tuesday’s game.
