Dalton Knecht scored 20 points to lead seven Los Angeles players in double figures as the visiting Lakers rolled to a 119-101 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
Anthony Davis posted 19 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers, while LeBron James racked up 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his sixth triple-double of the season.
Los Angeles’ D’Angelo Russell had 17 points, Rui Hachimura scored 16, Austin Reaves hit for 13 and Max Christie tallied 12.
Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Harrison Barnes scored 19 points, Julian Champagnie hit for 18, Devin Vassell added 14 and Stephon Castle contributed 10 points for San Antonio, which had its season-best four-game winning streak end.
Vassell returned from a five-game absence caused by a knee injury.
The Lakers led by 11 points at halftime and 15 after three quarters. San Antonio closed to within 99-89 on a running layup by Castle with eight minutes left before Los Angeles all but put away the game via a 7-0 spurt capped by consecutive buckets from James.
Knecht’s 3-pointer off a James assist with 3:35 to play increased the Lakers’ lead to 115-96, and Los Angeles waltzed to the finish line. The Lakers snapped a three-game losing streak and beat the Spurs for the second time in two meetings this season.
It was the second of a back-to-back set for both teams.
The Lakers, paced by 10 points from Knecht, led by as many as 12 points in the opening quarter before assuming a 32-23 advantage after the first 12 minutes of play.
Los Angeles stoked its lead to 15 points when Hachimura hit a pair of free throws at the 5:03 mark of the second period.
Vassell’s layup with 2:19 remaining in the second brought the Spurs within 51-41. Vassell then hammered home a putback dunk with 24 seconds left, but Reaves answered with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to produce a 58-47 lead for the Lakers at the break.
Russell led all scorers with 14 points before halftime. Vassell paced the Spurs with 12 points over the first two periods.
–Field Level Media
