Lakers vs Spurs Preview and Game Thread: Rematch in San Antonio
The Lakers look to snap their three-game losing skid against the Spurs on Wednesday
After suffering their third straight loss on Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers will travel to San Antonio overnight to take on the Spurs on Wednesday. This will be the second time these two teams collide as both squads will play on the second night of a back-to-back.
Start time and TV schedule
Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs
When: 5:30 p.m. PT, Nov 27
Where: Frost Bank Center
Watch: Spectrum SportsNet
The last time these two teams faced off was less than two weeks ago when L.A. left Frost Bank Center with the victory. It was the first NBA Cup game for both teams, so it was one that expectedly went down the wire featuring Anthony Davis and Victor Wembanyama. AD’s 40 points proved to be too much for the rising sophomore superstar.
I mentioned AD’s brilliance in that game because that’s exactly the formula they will need once again versus the Spurs on Wednesday, along with some help from LeBron James, Austin Reaves and the rest of the team that desperately need to show up on both ends of the floor — contrary to what they did against the Suns.
Currently, the Lakers and Spurs have been trending in opposite directions. L.A. has lost three straight, while San Antonio has won four in a row, including Tuesday’s NBA Cup victory against the Utah Jazz. The purple and gold’s desperation to break this losing skid they currently find themselves in needs to be more apparent than the Spurs’ willingness to extend their winning streak.
For the Lakers to do that, they might want to control the paint again like they did last time when they limited the Spurs to just 44 points in the interior compared to their 50. The Lakers dared the Spurs to shoot from the perimeter, which was a good game plan considering they rank 17th in 3-point percentage. The Spurs just made 37.8% of their threes and no one besides Wemby had more than four makes.
With that all said, this game for the Lakers will come down to how much fight and pride they really have. It’s unfortunate that I’m mentioning this 17 games into the season but that’s been the theme so far, especially in this three-game losing streak. They’ve been really bad in third quarters and have folded every time their opponents have made a run. This needs to change as soon as possible before it’s, once again, too late.
Let’s see if the Lakers are as sick as us fans watching themselves lose and respond the right way against the Spurs on Wednesday.
Notes and Updates
- No injury report has been released yet for both teams since they played on Tuesday but note that Jaxson Haynes (ankle) had to be carried to the locker room in the fourth quarter.
- For the Lakers, expect the usuals in Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot surgery recovery) and Christian Wood (left knee surgery recovery) to be out.
- We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!
You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.