the usual with Los Angeles Lakers is that they are the ones who squander a great advantage, which could translate into a certain victory, an unexpected defeat. However, something seems to be changing in the California team, and the best proof of that came in their visit on Sunday, January 22 to Portland Trail Blazers. Darwin Ham’s men did not finish a good first half, and it looked like they were going to throw in the towel a few minutes into the third round. With 25 points behind Lebron James and the company did not get discouraged and continued to fight, so much so that 24 minutes later they had reversed the score to win by 121 to 112.
While returns are more common and random than they were 20 years ago, there is tremendous value in turning a score from -25 to +9 this way. The Lakers took it on defense, which resulted in the locals signing a 30.8% field goal accuracy and 22.7% three-point shooting throughout the second half. While the Angels were flying their best second half the entire way, shooting 40% from long range and 56.5% overall after passing through the locker room. In doing so, Hamm’s team signed the second biggest comeback in their history after scoring 30 on December 6, 2002 against the Mavs.
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In that sense, LeBron James was the grand architect, someone who stood firm from start to finish. That’s why the Californians were able to come back, finishing another night above their scoring average. With 37 points20 of them in the second half, the star led and added 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks in almost 37 minutes. Thus, the 38-year-old signed his sixth best goalscorer of the season and his 18th game with +35 goals over the age of 37, confirming him as the greatest goalscorer in history. More importantly, thanks to performances like LeBron’s, the gap between him and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is closing at a very high rate. He is only 224 away from making history.
👑 With his 37 points in the win against the Blazers, LeBron was 224 away from being the all-time leading scorer #NBA
🤔 In how many matches will he beat Kareem? 7, 8, 9? pic.twitter.com/otEgq1tuPe
— Sportingnewses Spain 🇪🇸 (@sportingnewses) January 23, 2023
Apart from the unburnt James, the Lakers’ victory had other protagonists. Specifically two, who have been advising for a long time and who will surely have a good contract in the next Free Agency: Dennis Schroder and Thomas Bryant.
The German was the engine of the group’s comeback, adding 22 of his 24 points after the break to also finish with 6 rebounds and 8 assists. In microwave mode Schroder pulled the team starting in the third quarter and gave hope to a team that no one expected at that point in the film.
Secondly, Thomas Bryant he continues to make positive strides and has returned the hopes that one day held in that inner motivation. With 31 points on 12 of 15 attempts (80%), 14 rebounds and 1 block, The former Wizards took advantage of the Blazers’ awful rim protection, getting passes time and time again to finish. Using direct blocks with Beverley, Westbrook and Schroder, Bryant wore down Nurkic to the point where he only played 6 minutes in the second half. Proof that, despite everything, these Lakers are capable of being dangerous.
What a night for Thomas Bryant:
-31 points
– 14 rebounds
-4 three-pointers
– 80% FG
– 25 points return of the Lakers W pic.twitter.com/xrSw14QnD7—NBA (@NBA) January 23, 2023
The Western Conference is wide open right now. Between 13th and 6th there are only 2.5 games away, meaning a good week can propel a team into the Playoffs and vice versa. The Lakers are starting to fuel up and with 6 wins in their last 10 (all without Davis) they might end up surprising.
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