Los Angeles Lakers: Dwight Howard steps up with Anthony Davis out
By Nick Ziegler
The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Indiana Pacers without Anthony Davis, but they did have one player really step up in his absence.
With a big game looming on Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Lakers faced off with the Indiana Pacers in tough road game.
The Lakers have been one of the best road teams in the NBA this season, but they came into Indiana short-handed without Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma. Missing two of their top players proved to be too much for the Lakers.
It was a really fun game to watch and the Lakers were right there the whole time. However, some missed opportunities late from the free-throw line resulted in the Lakers coming up just short. The loss for the Lakers snaps a 14-game road winning streak, which is extremely impressive.
With the Lakers being short-handed without Davis, we knew that someone would need to step up for him. One of the players that has been doing that all year has been Dwight Howard. In the loss, Howard had one of his best games of the season.
Howard ended up playing 26 minutes and went a perfect 10-for-10 from the field. Dwight finished with 20 points, six rebounds, and three blocks. Without Davis, the Lakers needed Howard and McGee to perform well on the inside and keep up with the impressive Domantas Sabonis.
Sabonis certainly had a good game, but Howard didn’t back down and went toe-to-toe with the Pacers big man. Even though the Lakers came up short in this one, it was great to see what Howard was capable of doing in a bit more of an expanded role. Seeing a bench player like Howard step up with a star like Davis out is a good example of the depth that the Lakers have.
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Next up for the Lakers will be a big showdown on Thursday against the Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. This will be a showdown between two of the best teams in the league, and hopefully the Lakers are a bit healthier. If Davis does miss this game, expect to see Howard in a larger role than normal once again.