In order for the Los Angeles Lakers to make a run in the Western Conference playoff race, they need balanced scoring. That is something they got on Thursday in an impressive 124-111 win over the Golden State Warriors.
According to ESPN, in the first time since Anthony Davis and LeBron James became Lakers teammates for the 2019-20 NBA regular season that neither Davis or James were among the top three for the Lakers in scoring for a game that both players played. In this matchup, the Lakers leading scorer was actually shooting guard Malik Beasley of Atlanta, Georgia, who had 25 points.
Beasley came to the Lakers in the deal that saw Los Angeles trade star point guard Russell Westbrook to Utah. However, Westbrook did not join the Jazz, and in fact did not even change stadiums, as he came to terms wit the Los Angeles Clippers earlier in the week.
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The Laker with the second most points was rookie shooting guard Austin Reaves of Newark, Arkansas, who had 17 points. He was followed by power forward Rui Hachimura of Toyama, Japan, who had 14 points. Hachimura came to the Lakers in a trade with Washington in January.
Now it should be noted that James and Davis both reached double digits in scoring. James was tied for fourth in scoring with Dennis Schroder, as they each had 13 points. Davis had 12 points, while Lonnie Walker IV and Mohamed Bamba each had 10 points.
The bottom line is the Lakers must be thrilled with their balanced attack on Thursday. With the win, they improved to 28 wins and 32 losses and are a game and a half back of the Golden State Warriors for the final spot in the NBA Western Conference Play-In Tournament.
