Lakers pull out of five-game slide with win over Pacers

[January 21, 2017]  LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers showed more hustle, Indiana Pacers coach Nate McMillan said.

Lou Williams scored a game-high 27 points and the Lakers ended a five-game skid with a 108-96 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night at Staples Center.

Julius Randle scored 16 points and Brandon Ingram and Nick Young added 15 points apiece for the Lakers (16-31), who turned the game in their favor with a solid second half. Jordan Clarkson chipped in 12 points for Los Angeles.

"I just saw them scrap harder, they wanted the ball more and they went after the ball," said McMillan, whose club was outrebounded 51-37 and 16-8 on the offensive end. "Sixteen offensive boards; we knew this team averaged 11 offensive rebounds a game, No. 6 in the league and that they all attack the boards.

"That required all of us to recover to the paint and rebound the ball. We didn't do that, we just had to no scrap going after the ball."

Paul George had 21 points to lead the Pacers (22-20), who had won seven of their previous eight games. Al Jefferson scored all 20 of his points in the first half for Indiana, which lost for the first time at Staples in four games and had its four-game winning streak against the Lakers snapped.

Indiana center Myles Turner contributed 15 points.

The Lakers prevailed despite losing starting point guard D'Angelo Russell, who suffered a mild MCL sprain to his right knee and a strained right calf a little more than a minute into the opening quarter. Russell went down awkwardly after stepping on the foot of teammate Julius Randle while dribbling the ball.

Russell lay on the court for several minutes before walking to the locker room. He did not return.

"It's just sore," Russell said of his knee. "That's about it. Just kind of sore."

The Pacers led 53-51 at the break. Indiana took advantage of 14 Lakers turnovers (leading to 13 points), eight of those occurring in the second quarter, while committing nine (seven points).

Overall, the Lakers had 24 miscues (resulting in 28 points) to 21 (29 points) for the Pacers.

"We had some bad turnovers," said George, who scored 12 points in the second half. "They capitalized with effort. They got the crowd involved. They were hunting down shots. They were aggressive."

In the third quarter, the Lakers began to create some distance. They opened with an 18-6 run, including a 10-0 spurt, after a 3-pointer by Jose Calderon with 6:53 left in the quarter.

The Pacers scored seven straight points to slice the deficit to 69-66, but the Lakers answered with an 11-2 surge for an 80-68 advantage after a trey by Williams with 2:31 left in the quarter.

Lakers center Timofey Mozgov (20) handles the ball against Indiana Pacers center Al Jefferson (7) during the second quarter at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles led 86-75 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Lakers increased the lead to as much as 20 points in the fourth quarter. The Pacers never got the lead below double digits.

Los Angeles made 14 of 33 attempts (42.4 percent) from 3-point range compared with 10 of 24 (41.7 percent) for the Pacers. Overall, the Lakers hit 47.1 percent of their shots from the floor to 42.5 percent for the Pacers.

"We have played well like this before; it's maintaining it," Lakers coach Luke Walton said. "How long can we maintain and how long until we can make this the way we play basketball."

The Pacers had 17 steals with Thaddeus Young leading the way with five. The Lakers had 15 thefts, with Clarkson tying a career-high with five.

Luol Deng missed his second straight game with a sprained right wrist.

The teams split the season series. The Pacers captured a 115-108 win on Nov. 2 in Indiana.

NOTES: Lakers F Larry Nance Jr., who missed the last 16 games with a bone bruise in his left knee, has been cleared to play by the team's medical staff. Nance could return Sunday when the Lakers visit the Dallas Mavericks. ... Pacers coach Nate McMillan, who picked up his 500th win against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, is one of four active NBA coaches to reach the plateau. Gregg Popovich, Doc Rivers and Rick Carlisle are the others. ... McMillan said the Pacers must improve their road play. Indiana was 6-14 entering the game. "The past is the past. We know what we need to do," McMillan said. ... Indiana was the top-ranked foul-shooting club entering the game at 81.9 percent per game. ... The Pacers cap their three-game swing on Saturday at the Utah Jazz.

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