While the losses were frustrating, the Lakers end their five-game road trip on a high, downing the Pelicans and Bucks in a back-to-back to finish 3-2 as they head back to LA.<\/p>\n
Lengthy road trips can often end with a flutter as teams are thinking more about the plane ride home than the game that comes before it. For the Lakers to regroup after that loss to the Thunder and finish with a pair of wins shows an impressive mentality from this team.<\/p>\n
There were a lot of built-in excuses for Saturday\u2019s game but the purple and gold came out with an impressive first half, withstood a couple of runs in the second half and go home on a high.<\/p>\n
So, let\u2019s dive into the win<\/a>. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A \u201cB\u201d grade represents the average performance for that player.<\/p>\n 38 minutes, 41 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 9-19 FG, 5-11 3PT, 18-20 FT, +25<\/p>\n What a night from Luka and some really important stretches. He took over in the first quarter to help build the Lakers\u2019 early lead, but his stretch at the end of the third quarter was the most important. He hit a couple of threes and a runner to help stave off a Bucks run and keep the Lakers firmly in control heading into the fourth.<\/p>\n 36 minutes, 25 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 4 fouls, 9-17 FG, 5-9 3PT, 2-3 FT, +14<\/p>\n Reaves was on pace for a pretty quiet night at halftime, then had a big second half and fourth quarter. His trio of threes in the fourth were important responses to Milwaukee trying to make a run, deflating the hosts a bit more each time.<\/p>\n Hopefully, the 3-point shooting in this one from Luka and Austin is the start of some positive regression after both have struggled from range this season.<\/p>\n 28 minutes, 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 5 fouls, 9-13 FG, 2-2 FT, +12<\/p>\n What a great pair of games from Ayton to wrap up this road trip. 40 points, 26 rebounds, 4 blocks and 19-24 shooting in the back-to-back.<\/p>\n On Saturday, he feasted around the rim off lobs and dump-offs from Luka and Austin. It showed some great chemistry between him and both ballhandlers and great understanding of what Milwaukee was giving up all night.<\/p>\n 37 minutes, 4 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, +26<\/p>\n This road trip has been LaRavia coming down to Earth. That was always going to happen. At least on Saturday, he provided a lot of value elsewhere. His value as a connector was apparent throughout the night and he remains a great help defender.<\/p>\n Hopefully a return home will allow him to find his shooting touch again.<\/p>\n 10 minutes, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 0-2 FG, 0-2 3PT, -6<\/p>\n A surprising start for Bronny\u2026and probably his only one. The logic was likely based on his defense and he was fine on that end. Offensively, though, he was a liability and that\u2019s why he got pulled quickly in each half. If he\u2019s going to turn down open shots, then he can\u2019t be on the floor, a realization head coach JJ Redick came to as he put Knecht in for him both times.<\/p>\n 34 minutes, 9 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 4-8 FG, 1-4 3PT, +24<\/p>\n On the flip side, one of Knecht\u2019s stronger performances this year. The three steals show how active he was on that end of the floor. His playing time will be determined by how attentive he is defensively.<\/p>\n The six rebounds also highlight how good of a rebounding guard he is, which helps, too.<\/p>\n 17 minutes, 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 3-4 FG, 4-4 FT, +10<\/p>\n Much like Ayton, Hayes did a lot of his work around the rim on alley-oops and easy finishes at the rim. He is also showing some improved signs this season as a rim protector.<\/p>\n 25 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 5 fouls, +22<\/p>\n On the topic of surprise minutes, Maxi got perhaps his first truly extended run in the rotation during a competitive game and you could see his value. Redick went with two big lineups that featured Kleber playing alongside Hayes and Ayton so that one big could be on Giannis.<\/p>\n That Kleber finished with a plus-minus of plus-22 shows how well those lineups worked.<\/p>\n Adou Thiero, Jarred Vanderbilt, Nick Smith Jr.<\/p>\n None of these guys reached 10 minutes in this one, but a couple of notes:<\/p>\n It was great to see Thiero getting his first minutes, first points and first field goalVando\u2019s minutes were down largely because of Kleber\u2019s minutes being up. But Vando also isn\u2019t making a particularly strong case to get more minutes right now, either.<\/p>\n This wasn\u2019t the prettiest road trip and it exposed a lot of things the Lakers need to work on, but coming out of it with back-to-back wins and a winning record overall is a testament to the coaching staff getting the players right mentally and having them prepared for these last two games.<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s inactives: Chris Ma\u00f1on, LeBron James, Christian Koloko, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent<\/p>\n You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude<\/a> or on BlueSky at @jacobrude.bsky.social<\/a>.<\/p>\n