CHICAGO — The Los Angeles Lakers won their 38th game of the season on Wednesday using their 38th starting lineup, and this one had the team talking about how far it can take them.
“I think we’ve got everything we need. It’s just about going out and applying it,” said Anthony Davis after putting up 38 points and 10 rebounds in L.A.’s 121-110 win over the Chicago Bulls. “We can definitely make a run. We’ve got all the right pieces from top to bottom.”
Davis was joined by LeBron James, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Jarred Vanderbilt in the first unit, and they outscored the Bulls starters 107-72.
“I think the No. 1 thing is we have multiple ball handlers,” James said of the starting group. “So no one has to feel stressed handling the ball every possession. We got shot makers in that starting lineup. And we have a lot of length.”
The win brought the Lakers back to .500, at 38-38, and put them at No. 8 in the Western Conference standings.
They have a date with the No. 7 Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, continuing their four-game road trip. The Wolves, at 39-38, are a half game up on L.A.
“We understood the assignment,” James said of the win, making up for their loss to Chicago in L.A. on Sunday. “Every road trip is huge, but because of our season and the way things have gone, this is the biggest road trip for us in this moment.”
L.A.’s starters shot 40-for-64 (62.5%) with James already looking back in top form in just his second game back following a four-week absence because of a torn tendon in his right foot.
“It’s kind of hard to just jump back in and hit the ground running,” Reaves said of James. “But props to him, he came out and gave us a lot of energy from the get-go. … It’s always good to have a player that good.”
Reaves (19 points on 7-for-8 shooting) and Russell (17 points on 7-for-12 shooting) were also effective from the jump. Russell, who missed the last two games with a strained right hip, said he was not experiencing any pain from the injury and made it sound like it would not be a lingering problem going forward.
With six games remaining in the regular season, riding the momentum of four wins in their past five games, the Lakers have the look of a dangerous team.
Davis is leading that charge.
“It all starts with A, man,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “Him just playing with force, him not settling, putting pressure on the defense to foul, him just loving and living in the paint.”
Davis shot 13-for-20 from the field and 11-for-14 from the foul line, registering his 16th game this season with 30-plus points and 10-plus rebounds.
“He always plays like that,” James said of Davis. “Just got to kick him in the ass every now and then. But he always plays like that so I never worry about him.”
Davis set the tone at shootaround Wednesday morning, stating in no uncertain terms what his team had to do on the road trip.
“We owe this [Chicago] team,” Davis said. “We owe Houston. We owe Minnesota. All these teams. Utah. So all these teams on this trip are teams that we lost to recently and we want to get some get-back. And seeing as the situation that we’re in, we need to win these games.
“So this is a time where we shouldn’t shy away from the moment. We should embrace it and these are the moments that you live for as a player.”