Dennis Schroder after leading Lakers to improbable win: ‘I treat a game like it’s my last’

The Los Angeles Lakers scored one of their most impressive wins of the season on Wednesday by getting past the Miami Heat, 112-109, without LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Lonnie Walker IV.

They were led by Dennis Schroder, who had one of his best games of the season with 32 points on 8-of-15 shooting overall and 4-of-7 from downtown. He got banged up throughout the night, but he talked about the mindset that helped him continue to play well through the pain.

“I treat a game like it’s my last,” said Schroder. “You never know what can happen. I was lucky to be hot tonight. My teammates did a great job screening, finding me.”

The German native took an elbow to the face at one point, and in the fourth quarter, he sprained his ankle, but he remained in the game and ended up playing a team-high 40 minutes.

In addition to hitting shots, he got to the free-throw line quite often, converting 12-of-14 foul shots, and he also came up with four steals while committing only one turnover.

But this was also a team effort by Los Angeles, with five players scoring in double figures. Russell Westbrook also came up big with 21 points, while center Thomas Bryant had 21 points and nine rebounds.

Miami has been on a roll lately, but the Lakers showed tremendous hustle and resourcefulness throughout. The victory gave them three wins in a row and four in their last five while improving their overall record to 17-21.

Oftentimes this season, Schroder hasn’t been as aggressive as he has been capable of being. His scoring average dipped to 10.8 points a game coming into this game, compared to his career average of 14.1 points per contest.

Since the Lakers lack depth and balance outside of James, Davis and Westbrook, it would be helpful if Schroder returns to the type of offensive aggressiveness he has shown in past years.

Los Angeles will host the Atlanta Hawks, a team they defeated last week on the road, on Friday before starting a quick two-game road trip versus the Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets, two playoff-caliber teams.