The Los Angeles Lakers certainly look like a team that has no plans of taking part in the win-or-go-home game of the NBA Play-In Tournament. On Tuesday night, without LeBron James in the lineup, they received incredible performances from players up and down the roster to pull off an improbable victory.
The Lakers were on the road Tuesday night to kick off a six-game road trip. Their odds of winning certainly dropped without LeBron James being in the lineup and the Milwaukee Bucks had odds as high as 99.8 percent to win the game.
But, Los Angeles wasn’t phased by the deficit, as they trailed by as many as 19 points in the game. Anthony Davis led the comeback along with Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell, as they clawed back into the game and eventually won 128-124 in double overtime.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers Updates
Davis played 52 minutes and 51 seconds, the most of his career and most by any Lakers player since Kobe Bryant in 2012. Not even a sore knee that left him hobbling throughout the game and required treatment could keep him from helping his team get a win.
“It was fun,” Davis said. “Let’s line up and do it all over again tomorrow.”
The two-way star scored 34 points with 23 rebounds, two assists, two steals and four blocks. Reaves had a triple-double with 29 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, while Russell poured in 29 points himself with 12 assists and seven rebounds.
It was a massive victory for Los Angeles, who is now only two games behind the Phoenix Suns for eighth place in the Western Conference with 10 games to play. But, the Lakers know they still have business to handle on Wednesday night when they face off against the Memphis Grizzlies.
“Now we got to fill our cups back up and try to go play against a really hard-playing, highly competitive Memphis team regardless of what their circumstances are with people being in and out of the lineup,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers Updates
This was a confidence booster in several ways for the Lakers. Not only was the win incredible, but it further proves they can hang even without James in the lineup. They are now 6-4 without him, the first team that could finish a season with a record better than .500 without James in the lineup since the 2012-13 Miami Heat.
To make the comeback against the Bucks a worthwhile one, the Lakers need to pick up the win over the Grizzlies. Getting off to a 2-0 start on the road trip and putting pressure on the teams ahead of them in the Western Conference would be ideal.
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