At 9 a.m. Beijing time on December 14, the NBA regular season continued to be fierce, and the Spurs, who were fighting at home, faced the Lakers. After four quarters of fierce competition, the Lakers narrowly defeated the Spurs 122-119, sending the opponent to an 18-game losing streak.
Match stats revealed:
For the Lakers, Reddish had an eye-catching performance, contributing 10 points and three stealsHachimura had 13 points and seven reboundsDavis shone with 37 points, 10 rebounds and four stealsPrince was well-rounded, handing over 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and two stealsRussell also had 12 points, 10 assists and three steals;Reaves contributed 15 points, four rebounds and eight assists.
For the Spurs, Vassell contributed 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 stealsKeldon had an eye-catching performance, handing over 28 points and eight assistsWembanyama was in full swing, scoring 30 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, two steals and six blocksBranham contributed 19 points and Collins also had 10.
In terms of injuries, the Lakers are unfortunately missing the help of Schifino (back) and Vincent (knee), while the Spurs will miss Bassy due to knee problems.
During the game, at the beginning of the first quarter, Wembanyama quickly scored 5 points, but the Lakers' Hachimura also contributed 7 points in the form of individual singles and successfully completed the comeback. Then, Branham's 2+1 was played, and the Lakers broke out, playing a 13-3 super offensive to widen the difference to 8 points. McLemore hit a three-pointer to stop the bleeding, and Osman also helped the Spurs close the gap with two points. Subsequently, the Lakers played 7-3 again and continued to widen the difference. However, Spurs followed suit with two counter-attacks to narrow the gap to just three points. Late in the first quarter, the Lakers continued to be efficient, hitting an 8-3 offensive wave to extend the lead to eight points.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Hayes shot accurately to help the Lakers take a double-digit lead. Then, the Lakers played a wave of 8-2 climax, further widening the difference. Branham hit a three-pointer at a crucial moment to stop the bleeding for the Spurs. The Lakers' offensive momentum continued unabated, with Hachimura scoring a layup and Prince completing an aerial dunk, while the Spurs relied on free throws to chase down points. Thick eyebrows hit a key three-pointer, Keldon immediately responded with a three-pointer, and then the Lakers scored consecutive points, and the Spurs were not to be outdone, quickly scoring five points in a row. It was a very exciting match-up battle, with Bushy Eyebrow once again showing his scoring ability, but the Spurs also quickly fought back at critical moments, and finally ended this intense second quarter with a 7-2 mini-climax. At halftime, the Lakers led 63-50 and took a 13-point lead.
At the start of the third quarter, Reddish managed to complete a steal and score on a fast break, and Wembanyama then scored four straight points, but Russell's mid-range shot was no slouch. Subsequently, the scores of the two sides alternated upwards, and the Lakers maintained a lead of about 15 points. Midway through the quarter, the Spurs went on an 8-2 run to quickly close the deficit, and Reaves hit a crucial three-pointer with a wave to stabilize the situation. However, the Lakers continued to score points in the following games to extend their lead. The third quarter came to an abrupt end as Reaves threw in a backcourt buzzer-beating three-pointer just before the end of the game. Although a later review saw Reaves' three-point shot overtime, the Lakers ended the third quarter with an 18-point lead at 92-74.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Lakers scored again, and then Wembanyama stepped up again to score two points. Osman's outside three-pointer penetrated the Nets again, leading the Spurs to a 7-0 offensive surge. However, Prince's three-point shot extinguished the opponent's passion for chasing points. Next, the Spurs quickly scored five straight points, and Wood hit a three-pointer to cement the game again. Not to be outdone, the Lakers opened up the gap with a wave of 7-3 offense. However, Keldon's three-pointer quickly narrowed the gap to just 10 points. Next, Branham's throw found the basket again, adding a layer of suspense to the game.
However, the Lakers did not relax, scoring 4 points in a row, and Wembanyama even scored 2+1 to bring the score closer. In the final three minutes, the Lakers still held a nine-point lead. The Spurs clung to the score and scored five points in a row to close the gap to five. Not to be outdone, Thick Eyebrows quickly counterattacked to keep the lead. Wembanyama hit another three-pointer to just four points behind. Branham made a steal and layup, and the game became even more close, with only two points separating the two sides. In the final 20 seconds, Wembanyama hit a free throw that forced the Lakers to call a timeout. However, in the final moments of the game, Bushy Eyebrow hit two free throws accurately, and then the Spurs made a mistake and Wembanyama left the court with six fouls, and the game lost its suspense. In the end, the Lakers defeated the Spurs 122-119.
The starting lineup is as follows:
Lakers: Hachimura, Davis, Prince, Russell, Reddish;
Spurs: Vassell, Branham, Wembanyama, Keldon, Sochan.