James leads Lakers over Spurs despite rookie Wembanyama's 5x5
LOS ANGELES >> The Lakers had already dealt with the Victor Wembanyama show twice before Friday's home game against the San Antonio Spurs.
But even with those prior experiences, preparing for the rookie phenom is unlike game planning for any other player.
The 7-foot-4 French big man changes the geometry of the court because of his size and length. Passing lanes that are usually open are narrower or nonexistent when Wembanyama's on the court. Shots in the paint are harder to get off, let alone make. Wembanyama entered Friday leading the league in blocks (3.2) and stocks (steals plus blocks) with 4.4.
This doesn't even take into account what he provides offensively, having a unique skill set for a player of his size.
“You gotta attack,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “You do anything passive, he's gonna take advantage of it with his aggressiveness. The steals, the blocks. Just his motor. You have to fight energy with energy. That's the biggest key to it.”
Behind the strong late play from the returning LeBron James (30 points, nine assists, seven rebounds), the Lakers (31-27) got back to their winning ways despite Wembanyama recording his first 5x5, beating the Spurs (11-46) 123118 at Crypto.com Arena.
Anthony Davis had 28 points and 13 rebounds in 29 minutes, sitting the entire fourth quarter after playing 32 minutes in Thursday's road loss to the Golden State Warriors.
D'Angelo Russell added 22 points, six assists and three rebounds while Rui Hachimura recorded 17 points and seven rebounds.
James, who was returning from a two-game absence because of left ankle peroneal tendinopathy, scored 12 points in the fourth to put the Lakers ahead 118-101 with a little over three minutes left in the game.
James was taken out of the game shortly afterward.
The Spurs cut the Lakers lead to single digits in the closing minutes without Davis and James on the floor, but the Lakers held on for the win, their ninth victory in their last 13 games.
Wembanyama had 27 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, five blocks and five steals in 31 minutes, becoming the second rookie in NBA history to record a 5x5.
James returns
James was back in the Lakers' lineup against the Spurs after missing the previous two regular-season games because of left ankle peroneal tendinopathy.
James received treatment on the ankle during the AllStar break, missing the Lakers' Feb. 14 victory over the Utah Jazz before the break and Thursday's road loss to the Golden State Warriors, the first night of a back-toback set.
James, who was named an All-Star for a record-breaking 20th time, only played in the first half of the Western Conference's 211-186 loss to the Eastern Conference on Sun- day night in Indianapolis.
The four-time league MVP, who is in his 21st NBA season, has played in 50 of the Lakers' 58 games so far after playing 54 of 82 regular-season games last season.
“If you see him work, been able to watch him for years from afar, but not really know the intricate details, just what's being reported about the time and resources he spends on his body,” Ham said. “But now having been with him for a year and some change now, going on two seasons, two full seasons, you see the work he puts in from the nutrition, the sleeping habits, the way it's all calculated and planned out through a day, whether it's a game or non-game day. And his whole preparatory and recovery process, it's not surprising at all.”
The Lakers were still without Christian Wood (left knee effusion), Cam Reddish (sprained right ankle), Gabe Vincent (recovering from knee surgery) and forward Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot sprain).
They've been one of the league's most injury-plagued teams this season, but they still entered Friday above .500 with a 30-27 record.
“That's evidence of Bron and (Davis) not really contributing to that (injury) ranking, just to put it plain and simple,” Ham said. “Our two big dogs have been available to us for a majority of this season and thank God for them. But having said that, yeah, it's frustrating because when you don't have bodies in the lineup, it alters so much from minutes played, the way you set up your rotation, matchups, defensive schemes, everything. What you're able to do with the intangibles of offensive rebounds, getting deflections, it puts a lot of pressure on your lineup.
“But having said that, I will also say everyone in that locker room, when they've been available, have done a great job with the next-man mentality and fighting with whatever they have, whatever they have to give, whether it's all out or on a minute's restriction when they're on the floor, they're really trying to compete at a high level and play the right way. And thus, in spite of all those unfortunate circumstances that's beyond our control, we sit where we sit.”
Davis was downgraded to questionable entering Friday's game because of Achilles tendinopathy and left hip spasms that he's dealt with for a significant part of the season before being upgraded to available an hour before tipoff.
“He's managing it well,” Ham said. “Just said `what's up' to him and he gave me the head nod and the salute. So he's in a good place mentally, spiritually. Things should be better. We want things to be better in terms of our positioning.
“But we definitely have a fighting chance, and we definitely have a huge light at the end of the tunnel. We just gotta put it all together and get some bodies back. He's done a phenomenal job of taking care of himself and making sure he's available and just playing at an extremely high level on both sides of the ball.”