The Los Angeles Lakers bested the Portland Trail Blazers 123-115 on Monday despite being without Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves. Los Angeles head coach JJ Redick offered a simple explanation as to how his short-handed squad was able to prevail.
“Confidence. Belief. Connectivity,” Redick told Spectrum SportsNet after the game.
The Lakers received massive showings from both center Deandre Ayton and forward Rui Hachimura. Ayton totaled 29 points and 10 rebounds while Hachimura posted 28 points and four boards.
While both of these players were critical, Los Angeles guard Nick Smith Jr. may have turned in the most surprising performance of the evening. The 21-year-old tallied 25 points while shooting 10-of-15 from the field and 5-of-6 from distance.
“Just coming together as a group, getting a big win, especially with our best players out,” Smith told ESPN’s Kevin Pelton. “Bron, Luka, AR, those guys do a lot for us. Just to have a win like this for the young guys and the other players to step up like this is big for us.”
The Lakers have now won their last four contests and have embraced a mentality that could be beneficial throughout the grind of a long season.
“You’ve got to sit there and blame dudes like Jake LaRavia,” Ayton said. “He started all this. You know, next man up mentality. Showing up, being on time and approaching the game a different way. JJ has given us opportunities like this when our guys are out and given us the freedom. You’ve got guys like Jake LaRavia and Nick Smith showing out.”
The Lakers are 6-2 on the season. They will host the San Antonio Spurs in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
Be the first to comment