October ’23 Lakers Log: Lakers open the season with a 1 and 2 start

LAL 107 – DEN 119 L, 0-1, 10/24/23: The Lakers opened the season with a loss against the defending champs. A rematch of the Western Conference Finals, in which the Lakers were swept by the Nuggets. LA trailed by 14 after the 1st but slowly chipped away. The Lakers made a run in the 3rd to cut the lead to 5 but couldn’t take a lead. Anthony Davis (AD) scored 17 in the 1st half but went scoreless in the 2nd. LeBron was on a minutes restriction but managed to put up 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. LA dropped the opener, 107-119. 

PHX 95 – LAL 100 W, 1-1, 10/26/23: LeBron James led the Lakers to their first win of the season. After trailing by 12 at the end of the 1st quarter, the Lakers cut the lead to just 4 at halftime. The Lakers stormed back in the 4th quarter, outsourcing the Suns 28 to 11 in the period. AD tied the game at 87 with 4 minutes 16 seconds remaining with an And-1. LeBron then followed, splitting the defense for a nice layup to give LA a 2-point lead. The teams went back and forth, as LeBron gave LA another 2-point lead with a minute and 11 seconds remaining. LeBron sealed the game with another layup with 41 seconds left to give the Lakers a 4-point lead. James finished the night with 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists. AD finished the night with 30 points and 12 boards. The Lakers evened their record at one and one with the win.

LAL 127 – SAC 132 L OT, 1-2, 10/29/23: The Lakers lost a thriller in overtime to the two seed from last season, the Sacramento Kings. Led by De’Aaron Fox, the Kings took a 13-point lead over the Lakers after the 1st. The Lakers have now fallen behind by 12 or more points after the 1st quarter in all three games thus far. The Lakers trailed by 7 for most of the game before storming back in the 2nd half. With the teams going back and forth in the 4th, the Lakers had a 4-point lead before falling behind by 7 with a minute and 24 seconds remaining. The Lakers got back into the game on a triple and 2 free throws from D’lo, and tied the game on a putback from AD. With the Lakers down 2 with 12 seconds left, LeBron tied the game with a layup to send the game to OT. The Lakers just ran out of gas in overtime and dropped their 2nd game of the season. LeBron finished with 27 points, 15 boards, and 8 dimes, going over his minutes restriction for the 2nd consecutive game. Fun fact, twenty years ago, LeBron made his NBA debut on the exact date of tonight’s game, against the Kings, the same opponent. AD scored 30 while grabbing 16 boards. Austin Reaves struggled mightily, going just 1 for 12 from the field.

Photo Credit: ESPN (UK)