Bahamian big man Deandre Ayton had 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 119-103 win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.
Ayton’s big night helped the Lakers snap their three-game losing streak and consolidate their fourth seed over the trailing Houston Rockets. The 7-footer received a lot of praise from Lakers head coach JJ Redick for arguably his best game since the All-Star break.
“He played fantastic,” Redick said of Ayton, via Lakers Nation.
“The third quarter he was just dominant. A lot of that was very targeted because we were playing through the post and Draymond was going to overhelp and DA had his proper spacing.
“That touch shot for him at 8-10 feet, it’s just a high efficiency shot for him. I thought he played fantastic throughout the game, but the third quarter he was dominant for us.”
Deandre Ayton Responds
Thursday’s performance came less than 48 hours after Ayton was publicly called out by his head coach for being clumsy with the basketball.
“He’s having trouble catching the ball. We ran a bunch of plays for him. He’s just had trouble catching the ball.” Redick said of Ayton after Tuesday’s loss to the Thunder.
Ayton had a torrid time during the Lakers’ three-game losing streak, averaging 8.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in less than 20 minutes per night. As such, his performance on Thursday was an encouraging sign for the Lakers.
Lakers Reclaim 4th Seed
Ayton also received encouraging words from Miami Heat legend Udonis Haslem.
“I want you to know that you are still the guy,” Haslem told Ayton during the “NBA on Prime” telecast.
“Don’t change the way you view yourself. You think LeBron changes the way he sees himself because he became the 3rd option? Hell nah.”
Ayton said he took in Redick’s criticism in stride.
“I feel like when I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do, it’s contagious,” Ayton said.
“I’m hard on myself, especially when JJ is upset, because when it comes to that effort on multiple plays, I’m one of those guys he is definitely talking to.
“I take pride in that.”
The Lakers (51-29 will finish out the regular season with games against the Phoenix Suns on Friday and the Utah Jazz on Sunday. If they win both games, they will retain the No. 4 seed regardless of the Rockets’ win-loss record in their final two contests.
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