It wasn't always pretty, and the Hornets nearly came all the way back to make it stressful for them in the closing minutes, but the Lakers closed out their road trip with their 3rd consecutive win with a 124-118 victory over Charlotte on Monday evening. The Lakers head back to Los Angeles with a 4-2 record on their trip and two games over .500 on the season.
After a quick start from the Hornets to go up by a few baskets early, the Lakers recovered to seize control of the game and exert their will in the contest. They eventually got up by as many as 21 points overall, scoring well against the Hornets and getting enough stops to create real separation.
Anthony Davis was key to both those efforts, showing off why he's one of the best two-way players in the league, scoring and distributing as a hub of the team's offense and then expertly protecting the rim and providing support on the perimeter defensively. Davis ended the game with his 2nd triple-double of the season, scoring 26 points (12 of 16 shooting), grabbing 15 rebounds, and dishing out 11 assists. AD was excellent as a passer out of the post, not only hitting players on the move for easy baskets, but getting the wheel in motion by making the first read out of the double team that then led to the ball pinging around the court to find the open player.
And then on the other end, Davis was great all over the floor defensively, finishing the game with three blocks and countless other shot challenges that forced misses, both in the paint and on the perimeter. When the Hornets were in the midst of their 4th quarter push, AD was great at hedging higher in ball screens to help contain the red-hot shooting Brandon Miller, and then effectively ended the game with a critical block of a three-point shot from the equally hot Miles Bridges with under a minute to play.
LeBron James was similarly great to AD offensively, scoring 26 points of his own on 12 of 22 shooting to go along with seven assists and four rebounds. LeBron was not able to connect on any of his five three-point attempts, but he made up for that with his brilliance from two-point range via post ups, drives, and cuts for baskets right at the rim. LeBron's hunting of baskets inside strongly contributed to the team dominating the battle of points in the paint by a 78-52 margin.
While LeBron and AD did much of their work inside, D'Angelo Russell helped balance the floor with a 28-point night driven mostly by his outside shooting. Russell connected on five of his 12 attempts from outside the arc, lacing the net on pull up and spot up jumpers that came his way after strong Lakers ball movement. The Lakers tallied 36 assists on their 50 made baskets, and Russell was a recipient of several of those dimes via smart passes that rewarded his smart cuts when his defender helped off him and his commitment to properly spacing the floor within the team's five-out offense.
While the Lakers scored well and really found their flow on that end, in the 2nd half their commitment to hunting the paint and flow within their offense broke down and the Hornets were able to claw their way back into the game because of their own shot making.
Miller was critical in this push, scoring 25 of his 33 points in the 2nd half, including 16 in the 4th quarter. Bridges, meanwhile, offered a much more balanced scoring effort over the course of the game, scoring 21 points in the 1st half and 20 in the 2nd half for his game-high of 41 points. Both took advantage of the space allotted to them on the perimeter and were able to hit shots, both open and more contested.
On the most critical possessions, however, the Lakers were able to snuff out those actions and get stops. Either by trapping Miller up high when he came off screens or the aforementioned block AD got on Bridges' final attempt from three, the Lakers defense came up big when it was needed most, allowing them to hold off the Hornets for the win.
And with that, the Lakers head back home with a winning record on their road trip and overall. They will get a couple of days off before returning to action on Thursday against the Nuggets on the same night they will unveil the Kobe Bryant statue that will join those erected for the other legends of the franchise.