Ball goes long, quiets critics
Rookie connects for six three-point baskets and finishes with 18 points and 11 assists.
SAN ANTONIO — Lonzo Ball sat on the ground as his fifth three-point basket rattled around in the rim and bounced up a few inches. He jumped up and started to run back on defense as the ball sank through the net to give the Lakers a two-point lead, their largest of the game at that point. Ball wasn’t finished. On the Lakers’ next possession, he coolly sank one more to give the Lakers a three-point lead. At the ensuing timeout, Ball ran toward a jubilant bench, gave a hip bump to Tyler Ennis, then sat down like nothing happened. The rookie who spent the entire fall having his shot dissected and ridiculed, clapped back at anyone who didn’t believe what he knew all along.
“When I’m open, I’m gonna shoot,” Ball said. “People still guarding me going under so I’m gonna keep shooting.”
Ball made three threepointers in the game’s final 2 minutes 46 seconds to help the Lakers complete a comeback against the San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers beat the Spurs 116-112. They did it after trailing by as many as 17 points.
“I’m happy for him because I felt like he was being judged so hard to start the season,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said. “There’s no other rookie in the league that was getting dissected like he was. And he was playing great. He was doing all the things we love about
him, he was passing, he was playing defense, he was rebound. He just was missing his shots. …
“I’m happy for him that he doesn’t have to do that anymore but more importantly it’s nice to see that he’s starting to figure out how to shoot it from that distance in this league, how to get that shot off, because it helps [us] so much when he’s hitting them.”
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Ball is the first Laker in franchise history to have at least six three-pointers with 11 assists in a single game. He finished with 18 points, 11 assists, a steal and seven rebounds.
With the win, the Lakers have gone undefeated on their four-game trip, having defeated the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat. With the win, the Lakers improved to 2834, while the Spurs fell to 3637.
This five-game winning streak is the Lakers’ longest of the season. It’s the first time since the 2008-09 season that the Lakers have completed a trip 4-0 or better.
Both teams were shorthanded. The Spurs lacked stars LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard.
The Lakers didn’t have Brandon Ingram, out with a hip flexor injury, and started Kyle Kuzma. It was Kuzma’s first start since January 19 when he started against the Indiana Pacers. This time Kuzma filled in for Ingram at small forward. Rookie guard Josh Hart was back in Los Angeles, recovering from surgery on a broken hand. Corey Brewer was sent home Wednesday, having agreed to a buyout with the Lakers. He signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder and played for them in Portland on Saturday night.
Travis Wear signed a 10day contract to help fill some gaps for the Lakers. Luol Deng, who hasn’t played since the season opener, found himself active for the second consecutive game.
Down 10 points with 6:02 left, Ball missed a threepoint shot. Walton knew how confident his rookie was in his shot, but he added a voice to reinforce that for Ball.
“I probably have as much confidence in him as anyone, taking a three-point shot,” Walton said. “So I saw he was a little frustrated so I just told him at the timeout, that’s a great shot and if they go under [the screen] again, shoot it again.”
It was the same message Ball had received throughout the season, as he worked to adjust to the NBA game.
With 3:50 to play, Wear scored to cut the Lakers deficit to five, then plucked a rebound off the rim, which led to Kentavious CaldwellPope hitting a three-pointer to make it a two-point game. Ball hit a three out of the next timeout to make it 105104.
Julius Randle took it inside through all the Spurs and got fouled as he shot. Made both free throws to give the Lakers their first lead with 1:59 left.
From there, Ball hit two more three-pointers.