The Los Angeles Lakers received a welcome day off on Thursday following a six-game trip that saw the team solidify its third-place standing in the Western Conference.
Winners of 13 of their last 15 games, the Lakers will begin a three-game homestand with a matchup against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.
Brooklyn (17-56) has lost nine straight games and 19 of its last 21. The Nets will face a challenging matchup against Los Angeles (47-26) and star Luka Doncic, who has tied his career high with at least 30 points in 11 straight games.
Doncic scored 43 points in a 137-130 win over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday to help the Lakers finish a 5-1 trip. Austin Reaves added 25 points and LeBron James had 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
Reaves has averaged 25.0 points in his last three games for Los Angeles, which bounced back Wednesday after having a nine-game winning streak snapped with Monday’s 113-110 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
“Each game on this trip presented a different problem that we had to solve in a different matchup nightmare that we had to solve,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “And our guys did a great job of executing throughout the trip.”
The Lakers faced Indiana on Wednesday without Deandre Ayton (back spasms), Rui Hachimura (right calf soreness) and Marcus Smart (right ankle contusion). All three are questionable for Friday’s contest.
With Ayton sidelined, Jaxson Hayes recorded his first double-double of the season with season highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds.
“These guys, they know how dynamic (Hayes) is as a roller, and they’re looking for him,” Redick said. “And I thought he did a great job of getting to the spots with pace and then at times, playing through some contact as well.”
The Lakers will seek a season sweep of the Nets after winning 125-109 in Brooklyn on Feb. 3. Los Angeles led by as many as 39 points in the third quarter.
Brooklyn turned in an encouraging outing on Wednesday in a 109-106 road loss to the Golden State Warriors. Ziaire Williams had 19 points and a career-high six steals for the Nets, who forced a season-best 26 turnovers.
Brooklyn led for much of the game before being outscored 32-20 in the fourth quarter.
“Games keep coming, and the next one is again on the road against a good team,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said. “There’s not a lot of time to feel bad about yourself. That’s the reality of the NBA. (Our guys) competed all the way through. We’ve just got to be ready for the next game.”
Williams has emerged as a bright spot this month while averaging 13.3 points a game on 51.6% shooting from the field and 51.4% from 3-point range in his last 12 games.
One ongoing concern for Fernandez has been his team’s lack of free-throw attempts, especially after Wednesday’s game. Golden State reached the foul line 36 times, compared with 21 for the Nets.
“I keep seeing it over and over and over again,” Fernandez said. “It can be frustrating, because I think we deserve to get to the free-throw line, too. It’s something that I need to figure out. I’m not complaining about their free throws; I’m complaining about us only getting 21 (attempts).”
