Lakers Down Spurs 125-121 in Overtime
SAN ANTONIO, TX (CBSLA) - The Lakers emerged victorious in a thriller against the San Antonio Spurs, winning 125-121 in overtime on Tuesday evening.
Their first road trip of the season started with a win, even though the Lakers were quickly denounced from pregame scorebook favorites with the noted absence of LeBron James due to injury (right ankle soreness).
Both Anthony Davis (35 points, 17 rebounds) and Russell Westbrook (33 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists) scored 20+ points, which was just enough to overcome a big third quarter from the Spurs' Jakob Poeltl (27 points) and Dejounte Murray, who finished the game with 21 points. Lonnie Walker IV added his own 21 points off the bench.
Down 62-61 at half, the Lakers were outscored 35-24 in the third quarter, thanks to a 13-0 San Antonio run, leaving them in a 12-point hole, down 97-85.
The Lakers started the fourth-quarter on an 15-4 run, making up the entire deficit from the third-quarter, eventually tying the game at 104-104 with a little more than six minutes left in regulation.
The two teams would trade leads throughout the final minutes, with the Lakers taking a 114-112 lead on a Malik Monk three-pointer with 43.1 seconds left. The Spurs answered shortly after, sending the game into overtime. Anthony Davis, who finished the quarter with 10 points, appeared to suffer from both ankle and knee injuries, but ultimately stayed in the game.
Los Angeles scored first in overtime on a short jumper from Westbrook, holding the lead until the Spurs stormed back to tie it up 121-121, with 1:30 left. They would get two shots off in quick succession from both Davis and Westbrook, and that was all they needed to end up victorious. Kent Bazemore added a clutch steal in the final seconds to seal it up.
The Lakers had four players score in double digits: Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Malik Monk (17 points) and Austin Reaves (10 points) off the bench.
Carmelo Anthony had a rough night, going 1-7 from the field and 0-4 from three-point range, finishing the night with just four points.
The Lakers, now 2-2, will continue their road trip on Wednesday night when they head to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder (0-4).