LeBron James and Anthony Davis combined for 69 points, but it was the dagger 3 from Austin Reaves to deliver the Los Angeles Lakers a 124-117 win over the Detroit Pistons.
Detroit was able to stay in the game thanks to an absolutely white hot performance from Bojan Bogdanovic, who scored a season-ighigh 38 points and scored 24 points in the third quarter.
Unfortunately, Detroit didn’t really have a solid game plan or go-to scorer late in the game, and the offense grinded to a halt. They were able to generate some solid offense off their defense, but when they had to do their work in the half court, the buckets became much tougher to come by.
Despite the struggles, the Pistons were within two points with 35 seconds remaining after a Bogi layup. But James took the ball at the top of the key and when he drove into the lane it sucked in three additional Detroit defenders. James was able to kick it out to Reaves in the corner, and Reaves hit the shot that put the game away.
Jalen Duren received his second consecutive start and secured 13 rebounds, including a couple big offensive boards late in the game that allowed Detroit to stay in it, but was limited to just three points and had trouble containing Davis’ varied offensive attack.
Killian Hayes scored just five points on 2-of-6 shooting, but did dish nine assists to just two turnovers. Hayes struggled to penetrate into the teeth of the Lakers D, and when the offense sputtered in the final minutes, Dwane Casey opted to finish the game with a Jaden Ivey-Alec Burks backcourt for the final 2:37 of the game.
Ivey continues to struggle with his shot and is too eager to settle for threes, but he had several moments tonight where his difference-making athleticism was on full display including a rundown block at the rim and a fastbreak off a Saddiq Bey steal where Ivey was able to zip his way into the restricted area in no-time and even avoid the patented LeBron chasedown block from behind.
Ivey finished with 16 points (on 16 shots), and Burks finished with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.
The Lakers were led by 35 points from James and 34 from Davis while Lonnie Walker IV finished with 18 and Russell Westbrook had 11 points and nine assists.
The Pistons will next play the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.