After a back-and-forth first half that saw multiple lead changes and the Lakers taking just a one-point lead into the intermission, they were able to break the game open in the 3rd period by outscoring the Hornets 41-23 and then never looked back to win 133-112 on Thursday night. The win pushes the Lakers back to two games over .500 on the season as they head back out on the road to close out the calendar year.
Seven Lakers scored in double figures in this one, but it was Anthony Davis who led the way in another strong game in a string of excellent performances this month. Davis scored 26 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished two assists, snagged two steals, and blocked four shots while hitting 11 of his 19 attempts from the field and making all four of his free throws.
When the Lakers, collectively, were not at their best early in the game, it was Davis who kept them connected both on the scoreboard and from an energy standpoint. Davis expertly patrolled the paint defensively, but also roamed out to the perimeter to disrupt the Hornets attack and challenge shots on the wing. And then on the other end he raced the floor to get good position in the paint for scores, set good screens and dived into the teeth of the defense to finish in traffic, and ultimately set the tone that the rest of the team would eventually catch up to in that monstrous third quarter push.
If AD set the tone in the 1st half, Rui Hachimura did an excellent job of being key in the Lakers seizing control in the 2nd half. Getting the spot start in place of Cam Reddish who missed this game with a sore groin, Rui began the game slowly but found his stride in the 3rd quarter. After a five-point first half on 2-of-6 shooting, Rui scored 12 points in the 3rd on 5-of-6 shooting and 2-2 at the foul line.
Rui raced the floor in transition, leveraged his combination of power and quickness in the post, and made smart cuts off the ball to get good shots all over the floor that he would knock down. As Coach Ham has said, Rui is at his best when he plays a simplified game and is aggressive, and that was exactly what he did coming out of intermission, attacking single coverage with decisive moves that the Hornets simply did not have many answers for. His final line of 17 points and four rebounds, does not tell the full story of his impact on this game, but his +34 in the box score does.
Like Rui, LeBron James did not have the most efficient scoring effort in the first half (five points on 2-of-6 shooting), but coming out of halftime he played with a vigor and tempo that put the Lakers firmly into the driver’s seat. LeBron finished the game with 17 points, 11 assists, and four rebounds on 7-of-13 shooting, but 12 of those points and five of those dimes came in the 3rd quarter where he (and Rui) put the Hornets on their heels.
While LeBron, Rui, and AD set the tone for the starters, it was a great effort from the bench all night that not only allowed the Lakers to stay in the game early on, but keep the Hornets at bay in the 2nd half so LeBron and AD did not have to play a second of the 4th quarter.
And while Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell both paced the reserves with 16 points each on efficient shooting (Austin 6-of-8, Russell 5-of-10), it was Max Christie and Christian Wood who stepped into minutes they had not been getting in recent games and proved ready to contribute when their numbers were called.
Christie played a strong floor game with 10 points, seven rebounds, and three assists while providing strong positional defense that included two help side blocks at the rim. Wood, meanwhile, scored nine points on 3-of-4 shooting — including a perfect 3-3 from behind the arc. Wood also grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists, providing a balanced effort on both ends of the floor in two-big lineups next to AD and then as the lone big in lineups with Rui and/or LeBron flanking him in the front court.
On the Hornets side, though the game got away from them in the 2nd half, they got several strong individual performances that allowed them to keep things close early on. Terry Rozier contributed 18 points, six rebounds, and eight assists while rookie swingman Brandon Miller acquitted himself well with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting (3-5 from three) with two assists, a steal, and a block. Nik Richards also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Unfortunately for Charlotte, without LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward they simply did not have enough to contend with the Lakers once they found their rhythm offensively and their defense was able to better contest shots on the perimeter, playing with a togetherness that was too much to overcome. Symbolic of this was the team’s 41 assists on 52 made baskets while committing just 11 turnovers, hinting at some strides the team is making offensively exactly when they need to.
The Lakers will now head back out on the road and will look to extract some revenge when they travel back to Minnesota to face off against the Timberwolves for the second time in 10 days.
