Just by looking at the standings, the San Antonio Spurs had no business sticking with the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. Yet, the Lakers were without three of their starters. Still, despite being led by Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich, this is a Spurs team that entered NBA games today as the second-worst team in basketball, at 3-20. San Antonio hadn’t won a game in well over a month (Nov. 2).
Yet, those who have paid closer attention to the Spurs know they’ve come close to tasting victory, most recently against the Lakers in a three-point defeat on Wednesday. So once the Spurs got their chance at revenge against a wounded Lakers squad, Victor Wembanyama and his teammates didn’t flinch.
The Spurs didn’t just win; they led from start to finish in their 129-115 win over the Lakers. While there were a few strong performers, there were several others who could have brought better effort. Who were the biggest winners and losers from the Spurs-Lakers matchup?
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Winner: Devin Vassell sets new career-high in scoring after Wednesday’s dud
Before Friday tipped off, Vassell had never scored 30 or more points in his four-year NBA career. Making matters worse, Vassell had been shooting just 30 percent from the floor over his past three games.
Yet, we can’t act like the 11th overall pick from the 2020 NBA Draft doesn’t have talent; the Spurs just haven’t been able to tap into it often enough.
So it came as a massive surprise when Vassell continued connecting on shot after shot, leading the game with a new career-high 36 points. Vassell was excellent, shooting 12-of-19 from the floor while sinking 5-of-10 shots from distance. Just in case the Lakers thought they had any hope of a late comeback, Vassell sank one final dagger to send the crowd at Frost Bank Center into a frenzy.
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Loser: Lakers road woes continue
While the Lakers were playing shorthanded in this one without Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, and Cam Reddish, coach Darvin Ham might want to start coming up with a better game plan on the road. For whatever reason, when the Lakers play away from Crypto.com Arena this season, they’ve gone just 5-9.
That includes losing their first five games in a row when playing on the road. Obviously, that’s no recipe for success, especially when it comes to the playoffs. The further the Lakers slip down the standings, the bigger of a concern it becomes. If the Lakers don’t have a top-four seed (currently 7th), they won’t have home-court advantage, which makes winning a playoff series even more difficult.
Winner: LeBron James thrives, but he needs more help
If there’s one thing Lakers fans can come to expect, it’s that LeBron James will come through with a big performance. No, he didn’t lead the game in scoring, and he only topped his teammates by one point, but James did add 23 to the scoring column.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the most efficient night for King James, with him sinking just 7-of-17 shots while making 2-of-6 3-point attempts. He also went just 7-of-10 from the free-throw line. Yet, we can’t put the blame entirely on his shoulders, not in a 14-point loss.
James was also busy setting up his teammates, where he led the game with 14 assists and contributed seven rebounds and two steals. Austin Reaves chipped in 22 points, and Rui Hachimura’s 20 off the bench helped the Lakers keep the game competitive. Yet, shooting just 30 percent from distance and 64 percent from the charity stripe made life far too difficult for Los Angeles to fly home with a win.
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Loser: Los Angeles Lakers defense shows they can’t hang without Anthony Davis
Of course, the Lakers would have loved to have The Brow patrolling the paint against Wembanyama, but as Coach Ham revealed post-game, Davis wasn’t available due to an ankle injury. While Davis has faced great criticism about his health in past years, this was just the second game he’s missed all season.
But it shouldn’t come down to whether Davis is in or out for the rest of the Lakers to do their jobs defensively. As mentioned, Vassell had a career night. How? Why? The Lakers need to be flying to the ball, getting in the face of their opponents so they can’t even see the rim. Instead, the Spurs got what they wanted, and shot 42 percent from distance in just their fourth win of the year.
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Winner: Victor Wembanyama brushes off rough shooting night with all-around performance
The Spurs finally ended what was the longest losing streak in team history, and most would guess it took a blockbuster night from the No. 1 pick of the 2023 NBA Draft to do so. Not exactly.
Wembanyama took just 13 shots, ceding more opportunities to his teammates instead. Yet, the lanky Frenchman still chipped in 13 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks. If the NBA had more stat categories, he probably would have filled those out too.
In the end, the Spurs got a full team effort. Even though he’s San Antonio’s leading scorer this year, for one night, the Spurs didn’t need the rookie to lead the charge, offensively.
