D’Angelo Russell leads Lakers to blowout win in Detroit

After an ugly defeat in Philadelphia, the Lakers bounced back on Wednesday versus the Pistons.

The Lakers took care of business on Wednesday, bouncing back after an ugly road loss against the Sixers by defeating the Detroit Pistons 133-107 on the road.

D’Angelo Russell had his best game of the season without question tonight, scoring 35 points along with four rebounds and nine assists. Anthony Davis led the team in rebounds with 16 boards and added 28 points of his own.

LeBron James was lackadaisical versus the Sixers, but against the Pistons, he was back to being a productive star, scoring 25 points on 9-19 shooting and, more importantly, keeping his usage down, playing in just 29 minutes.

Both teams exchanged buckets early on, but D’Angelo Russell got the Lakers going, jumpstarting the offense thanks to his 13 points on 6-6 shooting in the opening frame. Russell was finding Davis early and often resulting in the Lakers leading after the first quarter for a change.

The rest of the half continued to be the Russell extravaganza as he stayed hot, knocking down a three the moment he was subbed back in. James also got going, quietly racking up a few rebounds and finishing in the paint.

After another Russell bucket, the Lakers extended their advantage to 19 and entered the break with a commanding lead.

James and Russell kept the onslaught going in the third and once James did the ‘freeze’ celebration, it became clear this game would stay out of Detroit’s reach. The Lakers maintained their advantage for the rest of the quarter and extended it up to 30 after another 10-0 run. Russell finished the quarter with a ridiculous crossover on Isaiah Livers and put the exclamation point on the possession by nailing the stepback three.

In the previous game, the Lakers waived the white flag with eight minutes left and emptied the bench. Tonight, they took out James with nine minutes to go, but this time, it was for some much-deserved rest in an easy win.

Essentially just running out the time left, the only notable moment in the fourth for Los Angeles was Jalen Hood-Schifino earning his first NBA points on a long two and ending the game with 10 points in his 10 minutes of play.

Key Takeaways

There’s nothing like playing a team that’s lost 14 in a row to regain your groove. The Lakers did what they were supposed to do, beat up on a bad team and rack up the win.

They’ll head towards Oklahoma City next to face the Thunder and end their four-game road trip. A victory there will make them 3-1 on this trip and make the defeat in Philadelphia a distant memory.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.