No LeBron James, no problem.
For the third game in a row, James was out of action with a strained left adductor, but for the second game in a row, the Los Angeles Lakers still managed to get a victory, this time over the Detroit Pistons.
It wasn’t the prettiest of contests, as it was marred by lots of fouls and free throws, but L.A. took advantage of its trips to the charity stripe and got a 128-121 victory.
It was the Lakers’ best offensive performance of the season so far. They shot 55.1 percent from the field and 87.5 percent from the foul line (35-of-40 overall) while also registering 29 assists.
They fell behind by as many as 14 in the second quarter, but as they’ve done so often this year, they made a run just before halftime to take a 68-64 record into intermission.