The San Antonio Spurs were in control of most of the fourth quarter Wednesday despite a poor shooting night from Victor Wembanyama. But the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a 106-97 deficit for a 118-116 win behind a big effort from Luka DonÄić.
They survived a near-collapse down the stretch to hold on for the win.
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DonÄić stepped back for a 3 with 2:31 remaining to give the Lakers their first lead of the quarter at 113-112. Less than a minute later, Wembanyama was called for a charge for his sixth foul of the game. The Lakers never trailed again.
The Spurs finished the game without their superstar, and the Lakers held on for the win in the battle of two of the West’s best early-season teams.
DonÄić came up one rebound short of a triple-double with 35 points, 13 assists, nine rebounds and five steals. He struggled from the field on a 9-of-27 shooting night. But he did enough across the board to lead the Lakers to victory.
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By his lofty standards, Wembanyama struggled for a second straight game while posting 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block. He shot just 5 of 14 from the field and watched the game’s final 1:40 from the bench after fouling out.
Luka DonÄić came up one rebound short of a triple-double and led the Lakers to victory against the Spurs.
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters)
Lakers almost give it away
The Lakers almost blew it late after appearing to have the win secured. Marcus Smart committed a turnover on an inbounds pass when he failed to get both feet out of bonds before delivering the pass with 1.2 seconds remaining.
The Lakers then fouled Julian Champagnie on a shot with 0.2 seconds remaining after an inbounds pass with 0.4 seconds remaining. Champagnie missed both free throws, and the Lakers survived with the 2-point victory.
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With the win, the Lakers improve to 7-2 for the second-best record in the West despite playing much of the early season without their best players. DonÄić has missed four of the Lakers’ nine games. LeBron James is still waiting to make his season debut while dealing with sciatica.
And the Lakers played Wednesday night without Austin Reaves (groin), who’s been the Lakers’ early-season savior while averaging 31.1 points, 9.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds.
But they keep finding ways to win, and did so again Wednesday night despite the late-game drama that threatened to let the Spurs back in it.
The Spurs, meanwhile, drop to 5-2 with a second straight loss following a 5-0 start. Wembanyama has struggled in both losses. He shot 4 of 14 from the field in a Sunday loss to the Phoenix Suns in which he tallied 9 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks.
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The Spurs face another tough test in their next game Friday night against the Houston Rockets. The Lakers, meanwhile, will try to extend their win streak to six games in a Saturday matchup against the Atlanta Hawks that starts a five-game road trip. Two games later, they’ll visit the 8-1 and reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who suffered their first loss of the season Wednesday to the Portland Trail Blazers.
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