Lakers’ Five-Game Win Streak Snapped as Pacers Secure Victory

On Friday night, the Los Angeles Lakers resumed their road trip against the Indiana Pacers, hoping to win six games in a row.

The Lakers are no strangers to the Pacers; they have already defeated them twice this season, the first time being for the In-Season Tournament title. The Lakers were going for the season sweep, and both LeBron James and Anthony Davis were available. However, the Pacers played with considerably more effort in this game, winning 109-90.

The other night, Rui Hachimura continued where he left off by opening the scoring with a 3-pointer. Austin Reaves then found James for an alley-oop.

The Pacers drained two triples early on, and James then found Davis for another alley-oop. This is normally the scenario when these two teams play. After the Lakers committed many turnovers and the starters went to the bench, the scoring slowed down a little, with the Pacers leading 27–24 at the half.

James made a few brilliant passes in transition to start the second quarter, but the Lakers’ 3-point defense was still a weakness.

The Lakers, however, excelled at getting out in transition, as evidenced by James and Reaves’ smooth basket-scoring passes to Davis and Hachimura. But the Lakers lost the second half due to some careless mistakes, and they trailed 54-49 going into the locker room.

The Lakers’ lackluster start to the third quarter allowed the Pacers to take their first double-digit lead as they kept giving up easy baskets and struggled to shoot from long.

The Lakers were unable to match the Pacers’ offensive intensity because Russell and other players were having serious trouble making 3-pointers. The Lakers were only 3-for-22 from beyond the arc as a team through three quarters. After a solid third quarter, Indiana maintained its lead and entered the fourth quarter with a comfortable 86-72 advantage.

Reaves did make a difference at the start of the last quarter by making a wing triple. Davis made a three-point play to swiftly reduce the gap to eight points. From there, Davis kept up his work, drawing a flagrant one foul from Jalen Smith, which let the Lakers cut into their deficit.

The Pacers were able to gain momentum after Reaves made a costly turnover, which caused the Lakers to falter. After Indiana regained a 15-point advantage, Darvin Ham made the decision to empty the bench and end the game.