The Los Angeles Lakers went into the final game of their three-game homestand on Friday night reeling, losers of five straight games after starting the new year with wins in three of their first five games. But an inspired performance by rookie Brandon Ingram helped LA snap their skid.
Ingram tallied 10 of his 15 points in the third frame, part of a 35-point quarter for the Lakers as they took control of the game with a second-half surge to beat the Indiana Pacers 108-95 at Staples Center.
Afterward, Spectrum Sports analyst Derek Fisher pinpointed the exact moment Ingram turned the tide for Los Angeles.
A third quarter surge by @B_Ingram13 was #TheMoment of the Game for the @Lakers in last night's win over the @Pacers. pic.twitter.com/Cefj0NX4Z2
— DerekFisher (@derekfisher) January 21, 2017
It was the exact thing Fish was looking for when, prior to the game, he pinpointed three keys to victory for the Lakers in his #ThreeFromFish social media post. Derek called for the Lakers to pull out some old fashion “LA Grit and Grind” to give the Pacers a dose of their own medicine, with physicality, pace of play and purpose.
Los Angeles did just that in the second half, overwhelming Indiana after the Pacers took a two-point lead into the break. Additionally, Derek called for the Lakers to attempt to corral Indiana’s dynamic duo of point guard Jeff Teague and star forward Paul George. They did an excellent job on Teague, limiting him to just 11 points and though he dished out seven assists, he also turned the ball over six times.
George got off to a hot start with seven points in the first frame, but the Lakers did their best to make him more of a volume scorer for the rest of the game, and he finished with 21 points on 15 shots. George also turned the ball over four times and the Pacers were -15 with him on the floor as LA’s starters vastly outperformed the starting five from Indiana to grab an elusive win.
That was something the Lakers had proven unable to do just a few nights earlier against the Denver Nuggets when Fish highlighted three keys to the game, a contest they lost 127-121, which extended their losing streak to five.
LA did manage to limit turnovers in that contest, finishing with just 12 and they moved the ball fairly well, checking in with just over the 27 assist-mark Derek had them shooting for by finishing with 28 on 47 made field goals. But not only could they not contain Nikola Jokic, who scored a game-high 29 points, they couldn’t shut down any of Denver’s starters.
Jokic was one of three starters to finish with 20 or more points and the other two tallied 14 each. Denver starters accounted for 103 of the team’s 127 points, outscoring LA’s starters 103-53 in the process.