In a contest the Lakers at one time led by 24 points, they were able to hold on and survive a late rally from the Hornets to win 121-115 on Monday night. The victory gave the Lakers a 3-2 record on their five-game trip and brought them back up to 16-21 on the season.
LeBron James once again led the way for the Lakers, scoring 43 points to go along with 11 rebounds and six assists. It was Bron's second consecutive game with 40+ points and, in knocking down 16 of his 26 field goal attempts, his 11th straight shooting at least 50% from the field.
As incredible as the stats look, I can promise you the plays he made to compile them were even more eye popping. LeBron was dominant inside the arc -- he missed all five of his attempts from distance -- zigzagging his way into one-legged fading jumpers, crafty finishes in the paint around and over defenders, and monster dunks in transition that you'd have to see to believe.
On one such play, a Troy Brown steal led to a 2-on-1 break with Dennis Schröder and Bron running out. Dennis, raced to get the outlet and attack the lone defender, leapt up to engage him, then threw up a last second lob that LeBron elevated, turned and caught in one motion, then slammed home with a reverse dunk at an angle that barely seemed possible on replay.
That dunk, while putting the Lakers up by 22 points, actually began the part of the game where the momentum slowly started to turn... away from the Lakers. Whether it was the sheer force of the finish or the fact that their home crowd was cheering at the spectacle of it all, something woke the Hornets up after this play and they slowly started chipping away at the Lakers lead.
From open court dunks to drives and finishes in the paint to outside jumpers from beyond the arc, the Hornets were able to consistently score and keep pressure on the Lakers to do the same. And, while on several possessions they were able to do just that, too many empty offensive trips allowed Charlotte to keep shaving points off the Lakers lead until it got down to single digits with just under nine minutes left in the game.
From that point forward, it was a back-and-forth affair where the Hornets continued to keep the pressure on while the Lakers tried to mix in enough shotmaking with a concerted effort to bleed the clock in order for time to work in their favor. Ultimately, this was successful, but not without a couple of scares in the final minute in which the Hornets pulled to within four points after making threes and playing the foul game to string things out.
The Lakers, however, were able to fend them off by making just enough plays at the end. This included a monster offensive rebound and putback dunk from Thomas Bryant, who offered up another double-double in AD's absence by scoring 18 points and grabbing 15 rebounds - including five on the offensive end.
That dunk, coming with just 53 seconds left, came with the Lakers offense somewhat stalling out after the Hornets began to double team LeBron to force the ball into other Lakers' hands. Patrick Beverley missed a jumper in the paint, but there was TB to clean up after a great tip to himself where he then secured the ball, gathered himself, and elevated for a huge dunk.
Beyond Bryant and Bron, the Lakers saw Dennis (15 points), Troy Brown (12 points), and Austin Reaves (15 points) all score in double figures and provide some good offensive punch for a team that needed every basket by the time the final buzzer sounded.
All three made integral plays over the course of the game, whether it was a crucial 4th quarter three-pointer from Brown, a highlight jumper from Dennis where he dropped his defender with a great pull-back crossover dribble, or Austin throwing another great lob to Bron in transition after flashing a behind-the-back dribble in traffic to break loose in the open court.
Overall, then, this was a very fun game that offered a bit more intrigue than one would have anticipated when the Lakers were in the throes of pulling away early in the 3rd quarter, but that's why NBA basketball is known as a game of runs and another example you can never stop playing. The Hornets never gave in, making the Lakers earn the win all the way through the final buzzer.
But earn it they did. And they'll get to try to keep that momentum going when they're back in Los Angeles to play the Heat on Wednesday.