LOS ANGELES — LeBron James had 17 factors and 11 assists two days earlier than his thirty ninth birthday, Anthony Davis had 26 factors and eight rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers despatched the Charlotte Hornets to their ninth straight loss with a 133-112 victory Thursday night time.
Rui Hachimura scored 17 factors and Austin Reaves had 16 for the Lakers, who gained for simply the third time in 9 video games since successful the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament almost three weeks in the past. Los Angeles pulled away from the struggling Hornets with a blazing 41-point third quarter led by Hachimura and James, who scored 12 factors apiece.
Los Angeles surged to a 28-point lead early within the fourth, and coach Darvin Ham rested James and Davis for the total closing quarter of a uncommon blowout victory for these Lakers, who’ve solely eight double-digit victories all yr.
“Guys were playing for each other, playing the right way,” stated Davis, who additionally blocked 4 pictures. “Anytime I’m able to bank some minutes, especially going into a tough back-to-back in Minnesota and New Orleans, it helps us as a team.”
James stands out as the NBA’s oldest participant, however he reveals zero signal of slowing down in his twenty first season. He hit two 3-pointers whereas quarterbacking the offense for lengthy stretches, and he led the decisive third-quarter rally. Los Angeles completed with a season-high 41 assists.
“It’s always good things that happen when the ball is in his hands,” Davis stated. “He makes great reads. He’s a student of the game. He’s seen every coverage and made a lot of great reads throughout his career, so every time we can get the ball in his hands, it’s good for us.”
D’Angelo Russell scored 16 factors whereas hitting 4 3-pointers for the Lakers, together with the 1,three hundredth of his profession. Reaves offered the spotlight of the second half with a slick behind-the-back transfer to get previous Terry Rozier for a layup whereas Los Angeles ran away.
“I believe that every time we step on the court, we can beat anybody we play,” Reaves stated. “But just really figuring out what our identity is, in my opinion, the main thing, because we can be so good when we figure that out.”
Miles Bridges scored 20 factors and Rozier had 18 for the Hornets, who’re on their franchise’s longest skid since late 2014. Charlotte hung with the Lakers all through the primary half, however struggled in opposition to LA’s zone protection after halftime and ultimately misplaced its second straight sport at this shared downtown enviornment to start a six-game journey.
“If we’d just guard without fouling, I think we’d be good,” stated rookie Brandon Miller, who scored 17 factors. “Being in the right places, I think that was the important part tonight. I feel like I messed up on a few possessions.”
Los Angeles-area native LaMelo Ball missed his 14th straight sport due to a sprained left ankle for the Hornets, who should play each LA groups, Phoenix, Denver and Sacramento in eight days on this journey. Charlotte is also lacking Gordon Hayward (calf) and massive man Mark Williams (again).
“Our guys have worked hard, (but) they know we’re short-handed,” Charlotte coach Steve Clifford stated. “This is a tough trip. A lot of times in this league, it’s not just how many injuries you have, but when they come. Unfortunately for us, we’ve had more than our share of injuries, and this is not the time to be short-handed. But we played 41 good minutes the other night (against the Clippers). We were right there. We played about 21 1/2 good minutes tonight. We’ve just got to defend.”
Hachimura began slowly from the sector after rejoining the Lakers’ beginning lineup rather than Cam Reddish, who sat with a groin harm. But he led the best way with James and Davis whereas the Lakers made 10 of their first 12 pictures within the second half and burst to their first double-digit lead of the night time.
Los Angeles had its ninth beginning lineup mixture in 32 video games this season. The Lakers have been compelled to make use of 39 beginning lineups final season, however James and Davis have stayed largely wholesome thus far this yr, lacking simply 5 video games mixed. Coach Darvin Ham stated he expects Davis and James to be accessible for each legs of their upcoming back-to-back street video games at Minnesota and New Orleans to shut out 2023.
UP NEXT
Hornets: At Phoenix on Friday night time.
Lakers: At Minnesota on Saturday night time.
