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Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES — As the NBA calendar enters the final week of the regular season, the Lakers are playing their best basketball in months. And after Saturday's 116-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, they finally had something to show for it.
It was LA's ninth win in the past 10 games, and the Lakers moved into eighth place in the Western Conference standings. This is their highest ranking since December 29th, when they had 17 wins and 15 losses.
LA is currently 45-33 with four games remaining, and it doesn't look like a team that is barely making the playoffs.
“I'm very confident in our ball club,” Anthony Davis said after scoring 22 points, 13 rebounds, six blocks and three steals against the Cavs. “We laugh and say, 'Oh, we've won nine out of 10 games,' but we're not going anywhere.” [in the standings]. So that's how good the West is. But we're confident in our ball club and every time we step on the floor. ”
In fact, the West is so competitive that only two games separate the Phoenix Suns in 6th place and the Sacramento Kings in 9th place.
It would make a big difference on the road to the postseason if the Lakers remained in eighth place, rather than slipping back to ninth place, where they have primarily been since late January.
Entering the No. 7 and No. 8 play-in tournament games guarantees teams two chances to earn a postseason spot. If you win that game, he will play in the first round as you are the 7th seed. If they lose, they will play the winner of the No. 9 and No. 10 play-in games to determine the No. 8 seed.
Remaining on Los Angeles' schedule are a home game against the West's No. 1 team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, on Sunday, a home game against the No. 10 Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, followed by a home game against the No. 13 Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. They are scheduled to play against the. Starting Sunday, they will face the 7th place New Orleans Pelicans.
LA is 6-6 against these teams this season.
“I think the biggest difference is we're just having fun,” Davis said of L.A.'s recent run. “We hold each other accountable. If someone messes up, we yell at him. But no one takes it personally, because we… We all know what we're here for, to try to win. That's why we're fighting. It's fun, we're playing basketball and having a good time. I am here and will always be with you. ”
On Saturday, the Lakers showed their unity, as the Cavs went on a 17-4 run to take a four-point lead early in the third quarter, and LA responded with a 19-0 run to take back control.
Davis' contributions included LeBron James (24 points, 12 assists), D'Angelo Russell (28 points on 11-of-17 shooting) and Taurean Prince (18 points on 7-of-9 shooting). It was comparable.
Defensively, Los Angeles held the Cavs to just 41 points in the second half on 39.5 percent shooting, and Cleveland's 97 total points marked the seventh time this season that the Lakers held an opponent to fewer than 100 points.
“Just take care of us, that's the biggest thing,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said when asked about the key to finishing strong late. “Everything else will take care of itself. We'll fall exactly where we need to fall. But the important thing is to play at a high level on both sides of the ball. We saw that on defense as well.” It ends tonight. ”
