The Los Angeles Lakers competed against the Brooklyn Nets in a national TV affair on Saturday night. In a game where LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Kyle Kuzma were sidelined, it was believed the Nets would stroll through this game for an easy win, even with James Harden out himself. Instead, the shorthanded Lakers took it to the Nets, dominating to the tune of a 126-101 victory.
Given the circumstances, it's hard not to agree with Lakers head coach Frank Vogel and point guard Dennis Schroder that this is now the team's best win of the season. L.A. dug deep and put forth a complete team effort to beat another title contender.
“When you see guys out and you see a great opponent like the Nets, you can be a little bit overwhelmed and not sure if you're going to have a chance to win it. But you want to have a go-after-these-guys mindset,” Vogel said. “And we knew coming in that if we were able to prevail short-handed against this opponent that it would feel good and it would be one of the best wins of the year.
“So, we're happy about that.”
Seven Lakers scored in double figures, led by Andre Drummond's 20 points and 11 rebounds. Another new Laker, Ben McLemore pitched in 17 points and five 3-pointers off the bench. Talen Horton-Tucker had a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists.
During the game, there was a controversial double ejection involving Schroder and Kyrie Irving. The two were simply arguing until the referees kicked them both out. At that point in the game, Schroder was the driving force of the Lakers' offense with 19 points in 20 minutes, but his teammates picked him up, which only made the victory more impressive.
With LeBron James and Anthony Davis set to return for the playoffs, this Lakers team just showed how deep they are and how dangerous they will be once they're at full strength.
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