Field Level Media
Mar 3, 2018
Lonzo Ball canned three straight 3-pointers in the final three minutes and Julius Randle scored 25 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 116-112 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
The Spurs led from the first bucket but Los Angeles used a 10-0 run capped by a 3-pointer by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to claw within 103-101 with 3:45 to play. San Antonio responded with a gritty layup by Tony Parker, after which Ball canned a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one point.
Randle hit two free throws with 1:59 remaining to give the Lakers their first lead of the game. Pau Gasol canned a mid-range jumper to put the Spurs back in front but Ball poured in another 3-pointer to give Los Angeles a 109-107 advantage. Gasol tied the game again with a pair of free throws.
Ball then made his sixth 3-pointer of the game (he made 6 of 10 from beyond the arc) and Randle drove the lane to convert a contested layup to push the Lakers to the lead for good.
It was the second straight game that the Spurs have blown double-digit leads in the fourth quarter and lost.
Isaiah Thomas added 21 points for the Lakers off the bench while Ball and Caldwell-Pope scored 18 each, Brook Lopez hit for 14 points and Kyle Kuzma tallied 11 for Los Angeles, which has won five straight. Caldwell-Pope, with 13 rebounds, and Ball, with 11 assists recorded double-doubles.
Gasol led the Spurs with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Rudy Gay scored 15 points, Patty Mills added 14, Manu Ginobili and Dejounte Murray racked up 12 points apiece and Davis Bertans contributed 11 for San Antonio, which has lost two games in a row and five of its past six.
The Spurs led 60-53 at halftime behind 10 points from Ginobili and nine from Mills. Los Angeles stayed close thanks to Randle's 15 points and 13 from Thomas off the bench over the first 24 minutes of play and despite 11 turnovers, three of which were from Thomas.
San Antonio played without leading scorer LaMarcus Aldridge, who also missed the second half of the Spurs loss to New Orleans on Wednesday after spraining his right ankle.
The Spurs are back at home on Monday to play the Grizzlies while the Lakers head back to Los Angeles for a contest against surging Portland, also on Monday.
--Field Level Media