Davis scores 36 points as Lakers hold off another Pacers comeback

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LOS ANGELES, March 25, (AP): Anthony Davis had 36 points and 16 rebounds, LeBron James added 26 points and 10 assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers produced their franchise’s highest-scoring performance in 37 years in a 150-145 victory over the Indiana Pacers .

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 26 points in his biggest offensive game since joining the Lakers, who have won three straight and five of seven. Los Angeles led 116-99 entering the fourth quarter, but Indiana closed the gap to three points down the stretch while putting up a 46-point final period.
Los Angeles scored 10 points in the final minute – including six free throws by Austin Reaves, who finished with 25 points in the highest-scoring performance by this 17-time NBA champion team since Jan. 2, 1987.

“We played them in the (In-Season Tournament) championship, and we know how high-powered an offense they are,” James said. “They’re never going to stop playing no matter how far they get down or how far they’re up, so it’s a good win for us.”

All-Star Tyrese Haliburton awoke from a quiet 12-point performance to hit two 3-pointers in the final seconds, trimming the Lakers’ lead to three points with 20 seconds to play. LA survived when Dinwiddie made one free throw and Haliburton missed a 3 before Cam Reddish stole Doug McDermott’s pass with three seconds left.

“We allowed them to score 145, so … it was terrible defensively,” Davis said. “They hit some shots toward the end, but we can do what we want offensively, as you could see tonight. But we’ve got to defend, especially when we’ve got a team (in trouble) like that. We don’t need to give them life, but a win is a win at this point in the season. We’ll take it, but we’ve got to learn from it as well.”

Indiana coach Rick Carlisle was annoyed after the Lakers shot 43 free throws to the Pacers’ 16, while Indiana was called for 31 fouls to Los Angeles’ 14.
“I thought our guys battled in this game,” Carlisle said. “There were just certain things that were impossible to overcome. A 27 free throw differential is one, and a 17-foul differential is the other.”

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