SAN FRANCISCO >> In one of the quiet moments of Saturday’s game, when LeBron James and Anthony Davis were both on the bench, they conferred about their new-look group, that has changed over six players last month.
The two stars’ conclusion, according to Davis: “We’re gonna be really good.”
What Davis called a good roster on paper made most of its debut, minus James, against the defending champions and managed to pull out a 109-103 win, snapping a three-game losing streak.
Dennis Schröder, the pint-sized guard who has stood out time and again in short-handed games, led the way with 26 points. But tmost of the intrigue came from the newcomers: D’Angelo Russell had 15 points, six assists and five rebounds, Jarred Vanderbilt had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Malik Beasley had four points in their first games as Lakers (or in Russell’s case, his first game in his L.A. comeback).
For a relatively new group, the Lakers had some surprising cohesion coming down the stretch. Russell knocked down back-to-back shots in the midrange, then Rui Hachimura — with only a few weeks of a headstart on his new teammates — hit a 3-pointer. Davis got a critical blocked shot in the closing minutes, turning into a Hachimura jumper on the other end.
No one was more brilliant down the stretch (once again) than Schröder, who drove in for a layup against Klay Thompson with 1:117 left, sealed the win at the free-throw line. He turned in a 7-for-12 shooting performance from the field and a 9-for-11 night at the foul line. His continued presence in the starting lineup is a reflection of his relationship with Coach Darvin Ham, who trusts him implicitly from their time together in Atlanta.
While the Lakers were without their franchise player, the Warriors were without theirs. Steph Curry, who is expected to miss significant time with a leg injury, sat out, leaving Jordan Poole (29 points) and Klay Thompson (15 points) as the main threats.
The Lakers trailed by as much as eight, but a 34-26 advantage in the third quarter flipped it. Vanderbilt figured prominently in that period, scoring 8 of his points and going 3 for 3 from the field as well as hitting Wenyen Gabriel for easy pocket passes.
“I’m so thankful that we got him, man,” Ham said, shaking his head. “You saw his energy.”