LOS ANGELES — LeBron James produced his second straight triple-double, and Anthony Davis scored 25 points and took 11 rebounds as the visiting Los Angeles Lakers defeated the San Antonio Spurs 103-96 on Sunday to win their fifth straight game.
James finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists. The Lakers went the entire 2018–19 season, James’ first with the team, without winning five straight games.
Dejounte Murray single-handedly kept the Spurs in the game, scoring 16 straight San Antonio points over a seven-and-a-half minute stretch of the fourth quarter. His layup with 4:10 to play — the 13th and 14th of those 16 points — tied the game at 90. But the Lakers responded with a 9-2 run over the ensuing two minutes to hold off the Spurs and claim the win.
Avery Bradley added 16 points for Los Angeles (5-1), while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Dwight Howard had 14 points each. Howard also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
Murray led the Spurs (4-2) with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Rudy Gay and Derrick White added 16 and 12 points, respectively, off the bench, with DeMar DeRozan scoring 14 points and Bryn Forbes hitting for 12 for San Antonio. The Spurs lost at home for the first time in four games this season.
Kyle Kuzma’s 38-foot buzzer-beater allowed the Lakers to finish the second quarter with a 10-0 run and take a 56-43 lead at halftime. Davis paced Los Angeles with 15 points in the half, with James adding 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Bradley hitting for 10 points.
Los Angeles outshot the Spurs 51.1 percent to 33.3 percent over the first 24 minutes. Gay led San Antonio with eight points before the break.
The Lakers expanded their lead to as many as 19 points after a Davis layup at the 8:36 mark of the third quarter before San Antonio found some mojo, clawing back to within 71-65 five minutes later.
Gay’s 3-point jumper from near half court at the end of the third quarter left the Los Angeles lead at 77-72 heading into the final period. — Reuters
