Just days ago, the situation was looking very concerning for the Los Angeles Lakers. They had lost back-to-back games in blowout fashion to the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks, both of which are lousy teams, and their playoff hopes were looking bleak.
But L.A. responded by downing the Boston Celtics despite being without LeBron James and Anthony James. It followed that win with a hard-earned 113-105 triumph over the New York Knicks on Saturday.
On Monday, the team ended its six-game “Grammy” road trip with a contest against the Charlotte Hornets, one of the worst teams in the NBA.
After falling behind 8-2 in the opening moments, the Lakers turned their game on and shot 64.4% in the first half en route to a 74-58 halftime lead. They still led by 14 to start the fourth quarter and seemed headed toward an easy win.
The short-handed Hornets came roaring back and made the outcome interesting in the closing minutes. But L.A. flexed its muscles enough to escape with a 124-118 win.
Los Angeles now has a three-game winning streak and a 27-25 record, which puts it in ninth place in the Western Conference. It is now just 3 1/2 games behind the fifth-place Sacramento Kings.
The team will have Tuesday and Wednesday off before hosting the defending world champion Denver Nuggets on Thursday.
Anthony Davis: A-plus
Davis simply abused Charlotte. He had a solid first half offensively, but he particularly excelled in one area. The Hornets tried double-teaming him at times, but he made them pay with eight first-half assists.
Offensively, he shot 12-of-16 from the field and scored 26 points. He attempted only two free throws, but he still feasted in the paint.
Davis showed his defensive prowess by altering Miles Bridges’ 3-point attempt with 33.0 seconds left and the Lakers up by just four points. When Bridges missed another three with 9.1 seconds left, Davis grabbed the defensive rebound and hit two free throws to seal the win.
The superstar big man finished with 15 rebounds, 11 assists and three blocked shots, giving him his second triple-double of this season.
Rui Hachimura: B-minus
Hachimura started for the second straight game instead of Taurean Prince. While he didn’t score the points one may have expected, he did well moving without the ball, which got him some easy baskets.
In 29 minutes, he scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, and he added five rebounds and one steal. He was 1-of-3 from 3-point range, and spreading the floor from that distance has to be a key to him retaining his starting spot.
Austin Reaves: B-minus
Reaves scored just nine points and missed all five of his 3-point attempts while committing five turnovers. But he helped the Lakers greatly by dishing 11 assists, which tied him with Davis for the team lead in that category. One of those assists was a lovely alley-oop pass to Hachimura for a fast-break dunk.
He also added four rebounds, one steal and one block in 36 minutes.
D'Angelo Russell: A
After shooting poorly in his last few games, Russell heated up again versus Charlotte. He was on point from the perimeter, but he also moved without the ball and cut to the hoop well for some easy buckets.
Russell scored a team-high 22 points in the first half, and he ended the contest with 28 points on 10-of-21 overall shooting and 5-of-12 from downtown. His six assists helped key L.A.’s attack, and he also contributed four rebounds and one steal in 40 minutes.
LeBron James: B-plus
James was a nova in the first half, making eight of his 11 shot attempts and putting on a dunk show. In the end, he tallied 26 points on 12-of-22 shooting, although he missed all five of his 3-point attempts, while dealing seven assists and adding four rebounds, one steal and one block.
The downside was the fact the Lakers allowed Charlotte to make a run in the fourth quarter. That meant that instead of resting James for much of the period, he had to log 40 minutes.
Taurean Prince: B
Thus far, Prince has adjusted decently to his new role coming off the bench. He scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting while grabbing four rebounds and adding one assist in 19 minutes versus the Hornets.
Christian Wood: A-minus/A
Wood made a strong effort on Monday after some subpar games lately. He scored 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting while snatching six rebounds in just 10 minutes.
That’s the type of production, along with effective defense, the Lakers were hoping for when they signed him and what they need from him moving forward.
Max Christie: B
Christie again gave the Lakers some solid defense. He blocked a shot, took down three rebounds and went 2-of-3 from the field to score six points in 18 minutes. On one play, he attacked the hoop for a strong dunk off a dribble hand-off in the second quarter.
Jaxson Hayes: B-minus
In 11 decent minutes, Hayes went scoreless and attempted just one shot, but he earned three rebounds and added one steal.
