At 8:30 a.m. Beijing time on December 16, the NBA regular season ushered in a key matchup between Western Conference teams, and the Lakers challenged the Spurs away. Interestingly, the Lakers had just narrowly beaten the Spurs by 3 points last time out. In that game, Thick Eyebrows led the team, and James will return in this game, but Thick Eyebrows, Russell, and Reddish will be absent. It was also James' first meeting with superstar Wembanyama, with Reaves doing very well off the bench and often executing key shots at key moments of the game. James is also an indispensable pillar for the Lakers on the offensive end, and when James is not on the floor, the Lakers can collapse on the offensive end at any time. That was the case in the last game against the Spurs, where the Lakers led by as many as 20 points at one point, only to be caught up in the final split second.
This is the best chance for the Spurs to end an 18-game losing streak, and the Lakers lack thick eyebrows, and there will be huge holes in the interior whether it is offense or basket protection. And once the Lakers use a small lineup and can't open up the situation on the outside, it's the best time for the Spurs to open up the difference. Of course, this will require the Spurs to play enough tactical execution, after all, the Spurs' offensive efficiency this season is only 106, ranking first in the league. Moreover, the Spurs are also not as competitive as they should be on the defensive end, with a defensive efficiency of only 1174, ranked 7th from the bottom of the league. The Spurs also have a big problem with teamwork, averaging the third-most turnovers in the league with 16 turnovers per game. The Lakers used Reaves, James, Christie, Prince and Hayes in the starting lineups. The Spurs sent Vassell, Johnson, Sochan, Branham and Wembanyama.
At the beginning of the first quarter of the game, Spurs Branham and Sochan broke through to score layups, Vassell followed up with a three-pointer, Johnson even made 2 three-pointers in a row, and Sochan broke through and scored 2+1. The Spurs opened the game with a wave of 15-4, Reaves scored four points in a row by mistake, and James also continued to push the fast break counterattack to lead the team to chase points. But the Spurs were on the outside again, Vasselri scored 7 points in a row, and Osman scored another three-pointer on the outside, and the difference was pulled to about 15 points early. Collins scored four straight points under the basket, and Lakers Wood and Reaves hit two three-pointers in time. With Spurs Osman adding another three-pointer, the first quarter ended with the Lakers trailing the Spurs by 20 points at 22-42.
In the second quarter of the game, the Lakers made consecutive offensive mistakes and hit iron at the beginning, Spurs Osman seized the opportunity to break through the pick-and-roll and scored, Wembanyama scored a basket with a height advantage, and Mike Dermott hit a three-point shot from the outside. The Lakers Hachimura hit a misplaced layup, and Prince countered and made a layup. Hayes makes a basket to make it 2+1. After half a quarter, Lakers James, Prince, and Wood hit five three-pointers in a row. James scored 12 points in a row and handed out 9 assists to lead the team to chase points. With Spurs Johnson breaking through to create 2+1, the Lakers trailed the Spurs by 7 points at halftime, 62-69.
In the halftime, James scored 18 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists on 5-of-11 shooting. Reaves had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Prince had 10 points and two rebounds. Hachimura had 6 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Wood had 10 points and four rebounds. Wembanyama of the Spurs side had six points, eight rebounds and two assists on 3-of-8 shooting. Vassell had 15 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Johnson had 17 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Branham had 7 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists. Collins had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Ottoman 8 points.
In the second half, Hayes made a layup, and Reaves hit a mid-range shot. Spurs Wembanyama and Vassell made fouls and made free throws under the basket, Sochan broke through and scored a backhand layup, Vassell, Wembanyama, and Branham hit 3 three-pointers, and the difference was pulled to double digits again. On the Lakers' side, Hachimura hit a home run to 2+1, and Vassell continued to break through to make kills to stabilize the advantage. Reaves hit two three-pointers in a row to bring the margin to single digits again, but the Spurs scored five points in the final two minutes. At the end of the third quarter, the Lakers trailed the Spurs by 11 points, 87-98.
In the final quarter of the game, James broke through and scored a backhand layup, Spurs Mike Dermott scored a three-point shot, and Vassell broke through in a row to get 4 points. Osman also scored four straight points under the basket, as Collins hit a three-pointer through the heart. The Lakers gave up the game before the halfway point and switched to the bench. In the end, the Lakers lost to the Spurs by 14 points at 115-129!Spurs also ended their 18-game losing streak!
In the game, James scored 23 points, 7 rebounds, 14 assists and 2 steals on 7-of-17 shooting. Reaves had 22 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Prince had 12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block. Hachimura finished with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists on 8-of-15 shooting. Wood had 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks. On the Spurs' side, Vassell had 36 points, six rebounds and three assists on 12-of-19 shooting. Johnson had 17 points, 2 rebounds and 6 assists. Wembanyama finished with 13 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks on 5-of-13 shooting.
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