After a successful six-game road trip, in which Anthony Davis and company won five out of the six games played away from Crypto.com Arena, the Los Angeles Lakers got back to work at home on Saturday afternoon, with the team hosting Donovan Mitchell and the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.
Although the Cavs gave them a run for their money at times during this game in Los Angeles, the Lakers prevailed, 116-97.
The Cavs and Lakers came out firing, trading buckets to get the game started. Despite being an uncharacteristically early game on Saturday in Los Angeles, both teams were locked in and seemingly determined to get the win, with LeBron James and Darius Garland getting off to fast starts for their respective teams.
It was all offense in the first quarter with both teams scoring at will without much resistance. Every Lakers starter got involved in the first, with all five players scoring at least once, while James led the charge with a team-high nine points to go along with four assists. The first quarter came to an end with the Lakers taking the lead, 36-33.
The Lakers got off to a strong start to the second quarter, stretching the lead to 13 points, forcing the Cavs to call a timeout. D’Angelo Russell started to really turn it on, increasing his point total to 15 with three made three-pointers in four attempts. Along with Russell getting into a groove, James dished out his eighth assist during this run while connecting with Taurean Prince, who nailed three out of three from deep.
Russell was absolutely on fire in the second quarter. He torched the Cavs from beyond the arc, hitting five three-pointers, heading into halftime with a game-high 23 points and the team leading by nine, 65-56.
Unfortunately, the Cavs got off to a solid start to the second half, cutting the lead down to three only a few minutes into the third quarter. Some sloppy plays by the Lakers got Cleveland right back in the game as Garland tied the game with a deep three.
The Lakers only scored four points halfway through the third quarter, which obviously was not ideal, especially against a talented team like the Cavs. Cleveland started to take control with Evan Mobley putting them up by four after a couple of made free throws. An Austin Reaves three in the corner and a layup by James put the Lakers back up by three.
After an impressive 17-0 run, the Lakers took control of the game and extended their lead to 13. Anthony Davis put on a show, increasing his point total to 20, along with five blocks, six rebounds, three steals and two assists, while Prince also contributed with a few buckets, adding 16 points off the bench and helping the team reach a 14-point lead to end the third, 90-76.
James and Davis took over in the fourth quarter as they took turns scoring and making key plays in order to keep the Lakers in front in order to secure the team’s 45th win of the season.
What’s next for the Lakers?
Only four regular-season games remain before the Play-In Tournament gets underway, with the Lakers playing two games at home followed by two games on the road to close out the season.
The Lakers will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday before playing their final home game of the regular season against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.
The final two games of the regular season will be against the Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans.