Davis scores 21 points in return as Lakers defeat Spurs

Published Jan. 26, 2023 1:03 a.m. ET
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Davis scored 21 points in his return from a right foot injury, LeBron James added 20 and the Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from a rough loss to beat the San Antonio Spurs 113-104 on Wednesday night.

Davis, who missed 20 games due to a stress injury suffered during the first half of a Dec. 16 game at Denver, came in with 4:22 remaining in the first quarter. He was 7 of 15 from the field and also had 12 rebounds in 26 minutes for his 19th double-double in 26 games played this season.

Patrick Beverley scored a season-high 18 and Rui Hachimura added 12 in his Lakers debut.

Keldon Johnson had 25 points and Zach Collins scored 16 for San Antonio, which has won just five times in 22 road games.

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James — who had 46 points in the Lakers' 133-115 loss to the Clippers on Tuesday night — trails Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) by just 157 points. Los Angeles goes on a five-game road trip with their next game at home being Feb. 7 against Oklahoma City.

The Lakers trailed 85-81 early in the fourth quarter before they took control with a 22-6 run over a span of nearly six minutes. Hachimura, who was acquired from Washington on Monday, had six points during the spurt and James scored five.

Los Angeles' largest lead would be 14 late in the quarter as it swept the four-game season series.

TIP-INS

Spurs: Dropped to 3-6 in the first game of a back-to-back. ... San Antonio's largest lead was 10 with 8:33 remaining in the second quarter. ... Rookie Jeremy Sochan had 14 points.. ... Collins received a Flagrant 1 with 0.2 seconds remaining in the third quarter when Davis tried a 3-pointer from halfcourt. He received a Flagrant 2 earlier in the season, which puts him at three points. Players start serving suspensions when they exceed five points.

Lakers: Improved to 4-4 on second game of a back-to-back. ... Russell Westbrook, who scored 14 points, received his second Flagrant 1 foul of the season late in the first quarter.

UP NEXT

Spurs: Remain in Los Angeles to face the Clippers on Thursday night.

Lakers: Begin a five-game road trip Saturday against Boston.

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