The Los Angeles Lakers pulled off a massive win on Sunday night as they took down the Indiana Pacers, 150-145, at the Crypto.com Arena. This was on the same day that the Golden State Warriors suffered a 114-110 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves, thereby giving LA a 2.5-game advantage over the Dubs for the ninth spot in the Western Conference.
With just 11 games remaining on the calendar for the Lakers, it goes without saying that every game from here on out will have a significant impact on the playoff race out West.
Los Angeles Lakers Star LeBron James Speaks Out on Positioning in West

LeBron James finished Sunday’s contest with 26 points on 8-of-19 shooting, to go along with five rebounds, 10 assists, a steal, a block, and two 3-pointers. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer knows how important this game was for the Lakers, and he made sure to turn in another impressive effort despite dealing with a lingering ankle issue.
After the win, LeBron was asked to share his thoughts on the extremely tight race in the West. At this point, the message from the Lakers talisman centers around the need to focus on the things they can control:
“It has been flip-flopping so much over the last few weeks that I kind of stopped looking at it and kind of focused on each game at a time,” LeBron said, via Ryan Ward of Lakers Nation. “Obviously, we know where we are right now, but are going to continue to play good basketball.”

Tough Road Trip Ahead for Lakers

Things only get harder for the Lakers from here on out as they embark on a six-game road trip, which starts on Tuesday against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
LeBron acknowledged that this is not a common occurrence for him in his two decades in the NBA. However, he also knows that the Lakers have no other choice but to keep their head down and just do what has to be done:
“A very testy road trip for us,” he said. “It’s very rare. I can’t remember in my career where I’ve had such a late East Coast road trip or vice versa when I was in the East coming to the West so late in the season, so that’s challenging, but we look forward to it.”
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