Well, the Lakers had better hope that Detroit Pistons would not turn around their season and reach the NBA Finals. It may seem like a hyperbolic statement about a team with the worst record in the NBA, but after the Lakers barely had a 135-129 victory over a Pistons team, Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin on the second evening of a rugby team missing. On Saturday – after losing to them a week ago – the press and gold should be happy this is the last time they will see Detroit this year.
Since this was the last time they lost – coincidentally, also against the same Pistons – the Lakers issues in this one mostly dealt themselves. It gave the ball away 22 times – LeBron James had 7 alone – and it often seemed as if they challenged themselves to see how much turnover they could commit and still win. Their defense was also mostly sloppy, and players from the perimeter left Pistons shooters wide open to keep this game close for much longer than the teams’ pedigree and rankings should have been.
But honor to Detroit: they just kept fighting and won the battle for 50/50 balls to keep possessions alive and stay in a game in which they were over from a talent perspective. For a good part of the night, it looks like the Lakers may still have an annoying disappointment if they are not careful. These fears seem to be realized when the Lakers scored 0 points in the final four minutes of regulation when Josh Jackson (28 points) rushed from all men to send this game to overtime after James missed the buzzer.
And since Davis was last away and that he started hitting his first six shots that night, it would be tempting to say he was the difference in this one. But while he finished with 30 points and definitely helped in the win, Davis was just as guilty as everyone else on the team that he somehow looked like it was the guest, even though he was free last night while the Pistons Played Friday. It was actually Alex Caruso (10 points) who gave the Lakers a spark in the first overtime, with his fast-paced buckets and defensive intensity giving the Lakers the spark they needed to stay in it after a slow start of the extra period.
After some great plays by James and Davis over the two extensions – including some huge tries from LeBron to give the Lakers the lead and seven-point lead respectively, and Davis recovering for a miss on the somehow to force from our old friend. Svi Mykhailiuk – the Lakers finally put the Pistons away about an hour later than they should have.
James finished the game with 33 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Even on a night when you would say ‘meh’ when you watch, he’s still amazing.
And despite their best efforts to lose, the Lakers will thus win by an 18-6 record and four games. They will be free to enjoy the Super Bowl on Sunday before playing Oklahoma City again on Monday, while their home page continues. Maybe they will even take the Thunder seriously after almost blowing this one up.
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