Luka Doncic scores 43 as road weary Lakers hold

INDIANAPOLIS — Even LeBron James couldn’t muster the vitality. With a wide-open lane in the ending moments of the Lakers’ 137-130 win over the Indiana Pacers, James merely dumped off a move to Jake LaRavia. The 24-year-old had hops to put the ending touches on the Lakers’ profitable six-game journey.

Tired and shorthanded, the Lakers punctuated their prolonged journey with a fifth win Wednesday. Luka Doncic effortlessly scored his league-leading 14th 40-point recreation of the season, 43 factors and seven assists.

The NBA’s main scorer appeared prepared to settle for merely his eleventh consecutive 30-point efficiency — which is tied for the longest streak of such video games in the last 20 years — after the Lakers opened a 20-point lead coming into the fourth quarter, but he returned to the sport because Indiana, despite having the worst report in the NBA, was still pressuring with its starters. The Pacers (16-57) trailed by as many as 29 in the third quarter and trimmed the deficit to six with 27.9 seconds left.

“I think everybody was a little bit tired,” Doncic said. “It’s been a long trip, but we got the win in the end; that’s what matters.”

The put on and tear of an intense journey in which the first 5 video games all got here down to the ultimate minutes didn’t faze Doncic. He practically outscored the Pacers alone in the first quarter, placing up 21 while the Pacers trailed 45-28. He threw a lob to Maxi Kleber for a dunk in the third quarter then pumped both of his fists. Doncic nailed a step-back three from the top of the key, held his observe through and hopped backwards on one leg.

The Lakers (46-26) toyed with the struggling Pacers (16-56) for a lot of the evening. Indiana’s Andrew Nesmith and Pascal Siakam fell over each other making an attempt to contest a Euro-step layup by James, who then posed over them and pointed to the Pacers gamers. Nesmith and Siakam may only grimace at each other.

James completed with 23 factors, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Austin Reaves had 25 factors and eight assists Jaxson Hayes dunked seven occasions as the middle had his first double-double of the season with 21 factors and 10 rebounds, both season highs.

While gamers usually would drag through the end of such a long journey, Hayes discovered home-cooked fuel. Hayes stayed with his mother and father in his hometown of Cincinnati on Monday evening after the Lakers’ win in Detroit. He woke up to a full home-cooked breakfast from his mom, who stacked plates of pancakes, eggs and bacon in entrance of her son. He scoped out properties he’s hoping to buy in the summer time and frolicked with his dad all day. The household made the hour-and-a-half drive to Indianapolis and had dinner Tuesday evening.

“Best way to end the trip for sure,” Hayes said with a blissful smile.

Hayes introduced the vitality for the shorthanded Lakers, who have been without Deandre Ayton (back soreness), Marcus Smart (proper ankle contusion) and Rui (*43*) (proper calf soreness). Smart and (*43*) stay day-to-day as they missed their second consecutive video games while Ayton was ruled out immediately before the sport. Even the reinforcements have been shorthanded as rookie Adou Thiero missed the sport because of left knee soreness.

Thiero, who has been back and forth between the NBA and the G League‘s South Bay Lakers, played 29 minutes in a G League game on Saturday and flew directly to Detroit for Monday’s recreation. He performed two minutes against the Pistons, making his first look in a first half of a recreation since Dec. 7, but his knee didn’t really feel good the next morning, Redick said. The staff held the ahead out for precautionary causes, Redick said, as Thiero has struggled with accidents in both knees this season.

The Lakers relied on another part-time G League contributor to carry them through a sloppy fourth quarter. Bronny James had 4 factors, two steals and one block in 13:22 off the bench. Lakers coach JJ Redick said the second-year guard’s pull-up free-throw line jumper with 3:55 to go “was big to kind of settle us.” It stopped a 6-0 run by the Pacers.

It was just the second recreation father and son have shared the court together this season. The elder James had the right shirt for the event. He walked out of the locker room sporting a grey T-shirt with a picture of him and his son on the entrance. Across James’ shoulders on the back read “The Chosen 1.” Across the underside of the shirt, it read “The 1 who chose.”

“Felt like this was a game we really needed him,” Redick said of Bronny James. “It was a game that [we needed] his athleticism, his defense. … I think the biggest thing with him is he’s got a lot of confidence right now.”

The Lakers have gained 13 of their last 15 video games to vault to third place in the aggressive Western Conference. They have six of their last 9 regular-season video games at home and, after this grueling stretch, they will’t get there soon enough.

“Do we have to do this?” Redick said quietly as he sat down for his postgame news convention.

He knew everybody in the room wished to get home.