LOS ANGELES — Coming into Sunday as the NBA’s last winless team at 0-5, the Los Angeles Lakers finally beat the Denver Nuggets 121-110 to give first-year coach Durbin Hamm his first win on his resume. brought
“Tonight we had to prove something to ourselves,” Hamm later said. I had to.
Hamm’s post-match press conference was postponed to accommodate wardrobe changes. did.
‘Very nice little bath,’ said Lakers big man Anthony Davis, returned from a one-game absence with a hip strain and recorded 23 points and 15 rebounds. “There’s nothing more than we could ask for in a coach…we deserve it, he deserves it, and it was good to give him his first victory as a head coach.
“He gave a speech. It was like, ‘Okay, coach, I don’t care what you say.’ Then we drowned him in water.”
While Hamm was soaking wet, the Lakers looked like the Splash Brothers. LA connected 16-for-8 from the outside in the second half and went 13-for-30 (43.3%) in a game after recording the worst season-starting 3-point shooting in league history in five games.
“I think the ball had a little bounce. The guys were penetrating, kicking, finding open shooters and not holding back,” Hamm said. “I’ve said it since the first day. Shoots fall. Offense catches up with defense.”
lebron james Leading Los Angeles with 26 points and 8 assists. Russell Westbrook He showed his strength for the second time off the bench with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.
Davis said of Westbrook, “Being a player of his ability who was asked to come off the bench is a guy who will do whatever the team asks to get a win.” He’s thriving in that role. That’s all we could ask for. I told him, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing. The last two games he’s been doing what he wants and I’m proud of him.”
Westbrook paid it forward and gave credit to someone like Ronnie Walker (18 points) and Austin Reeves (10 points) for helping the Lakers take the lead with a 17-0 run late in the third quarter and early in the fourth.
“Frankly, I love seeing my teammates in action,” Westbrook said. “I get joy when I see other people doing great things. In my entire career, what lifts me up is seeing other people doing well.” And tonight was the night I saw the guys making shots and competing.It’s all you could ask for.”
They’re 1-5 and 14th in the Western Conference standings, but they still have a lot of work to do to make LA feel a little more comfortable.
Davis, for example, said he was still worried about his back despite playing 37 minutes against Denver.
“One day I feel good, the next [only] Davis added that he was experiencing “considerable” pain. “So see what happens and try to manage it and keep getting treatment.”
LA gets two days off until the next challenge. Zion Williamson And visiting Wednesday, the New Orleans Pelicans are the team that beat the Lakers out of last season’s play-in tournament race.
The Lakers will try to bottle up the same group of energy they used against Denver. And perhaps James’ annual Halloween on Monday in his costume will further strengthen the collective camaraderie that emerges from his party.
“We’re here for one reason and that’s to win,” James said. “You have to understand that it’s good for the team, not the individual, whether the player’s number is called or not. It was one of the cases of players who weren’t called in. As before, they were still locked up and rooting for the group that was there.
“That’s what the team is all about.”
