Lakers welcome Rui Hachimura and Anthony Davis, run away from Spurs in win

The Lakers played the second game of a back-to-back against the San Antonio Spurs in the final game of their homestand before the Grammys trip starting in Boston on Saturday night. But this night was all about welcomes. One player was being welcomed to Lakers Nation, while another was being welcomed back into the fold after missing around 20 games to injury.

Newly acquired Rui Hachimura fresh off the trade from Washington and Anthony Davis came off the bench in this one to very solid results if you are a Lakers fan. Hachimura was obviously nervous at times but it’s easy to see why the deal was a good one (Didn’t know Rob Pelinka had it in him!).

Anthony Davis, on the other hand, dealt with rust for about five minutes but obviously, the man hasn’t forgotten how to play the game of basketball…

This wasn’t the prettiest of games, to say the least, but the Los Angeles Lakers had more talent and put it on display in the final quarter when they turned the offensive faucet off for the Spurs and ran away with a 113-104 win.

Now reality sets in on this upcoming road trip. The Lakers have to finish above .500 to keep pace with the other Western Conference teams. Rotating with the Portland Trail Blazers for the 12th seed is not it.

The good of the Los Angeles Lakers win: 

LeBron James is really torching the NBA right now!

For the Lakers to even be in the conversation of postseason in any capacity, LeBron James had to play out of his mind…on both ends. The website Lake Show Life has been critical of his off-and-on switch since 2019, but give this man credit, LeBron is really trying and playing hard. It’s now more than the scoring binge, he is providing defense, leadership and most importantly…inspiration.

It was plain to see, that LeBron was tired in this one being worn down from the ridiculous amount of minutes he had to endure with AD’s absence. But even fatigued, watching him adjust his game to the flow and competition was nice to see.

He finished with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists. The dude got first dibs on the sauna after the game.

Patrick Beverley is playing like he does not want to be traded! 

Look out Lakers fans, but Patrick Beverley is shooting the 3-ball a lot better the last few games. Sure, there have been jokes on the masonry company he started at the beginning of the season serving NBA cities, but he has shot 44 percent of late.

How many people had Pat-Bev leading the team in scoring in the third quarter on their Lakers bingo card?

He finished with 18 points with some solid all-around play. Yes, this happened and we watched the game!

The Los Angeles Lakers won the game!

Strange headline, but this game was still in doubt with about 10 minutes left in the final quarter. Anthony Davis led a defensive surge that spread to his teammates to shut the game down with little chance of a Spurs comeback…

The bad of the Los Angeles Lakers win:

The Lakers did not have a good first half, to say the least!

To be clear, the San Antonio Spurs are definitely in the Victor Wembenyama sweepstakes considering they have no chance of making the postseason. However, a Gregg Popovich team will execute and compete to override the fact that this team is in transition. The Lakers turned the ball over a lot and giving up seven offensive rebounds allowed the Spurs to go into halftime up 54-53.

Whether it was the excitement of AD and Rui’s appearance in the game or playing the second game of a back-to-back, either way, the Lakers can’t just roll the ball out and beat teams anymore. They have to beat them with execution and playing Darvin Ham’s way which is hard.

AD hurt his ankle…

Anyone that has played basketball at any level knows these things happen and it is so irritating when it does. Anthony Davis stepped on Zach Collins’ foot throwing up a shot at the end of the third quarter. He got three free throws (Hit them all!) and played the final quarter.

But the groans were heard in the arena though.

The story of the Los Angeles Lakers win:

Let’s get to the new additions to the roster!

Here’s where the real work for the Lakers coaching staff begins. There will be players not happy (Yes, we’re talking about you Russ!) with the rotation minutes…or lack thereof…

Anthony Davis:

AD is better than Zach Collins and Jakob Poeltl playing the game of basketball. That’s all and that is it. Sure there was rust shown in the game, but this is most skilled big man in NBA basketball so he still smoked the opposition like a pack of Kools…

AD finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds (5 offensive!) and 4 blocks in 26 minutes. Most of this damage was done on the defensive end in winning time.

Rui Hachimura:

He looked really nervous in the first half but settled in to finish with 12 points (4-7 shooting!), 6 rebounds and a steal in 22 minutes. His mid-range game is effective and he has post moves to work with if the Lakers have to slow the game down and run half-court offensive sets. The defense is already there. Great pickup for the Lakers…outstanding.

Celtics on Saturday.

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