LOS ANGELES_Julius Randle's eyes widened as he saw the path to the rim in front of him. He'd stolen the ball, then he sped ahead on a fast break and dunked it to give the Lakers an early one-point lead.
It was exactly what his coach wanted from him. In fact, all game long, Lakers Coach Luke Walton saw just what he wanted to see from his players. He liked most everything ... except the final score.
The Lakers lost to the Charlotte Hornets, 109-104, despite Randle's impressive all-around effort with 23 points, 18 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
"I think he should really watch film on this game as far as how he played, decisions he made," Lakers point guard D'Angelo Russell said. "Nobody plays a perfect game, but when he didn't play so well, when he had a few-minutes lapses, I feel like this is a game he should constantly watch so he can keep doing that."
Russell had a nice night, too. He matched Randle's 23 points and added nine assists with two steals and three turnovers. Charlotte point guard Kemba Walker led all scorers with 30 points, while center Frank Kaminsky III had 24 points and 12 rebounds.
That they hadn't played well at home in a while _ in part due to travel _ was part of Lakers Coach Luke Walton's message to the team during shootaround Tuesday morning. The last time they'd played here, the Lakers came out flat and lost by 21 points to the San Antonio Spurs. In fact, the Lakers haven't won at Staples Center since Jan. 31.
With that in mind, they came out firing.
In the first quarter, the Laker made 12 of 21 shots, with Randle and Russell combining for 20 of the Lakers 31 points. Six of the Lakers first-quarter points were scored in transition.
Charlotte recovered to take a 58-55 lead into halftime, in part due to 10 points from center F rank Kaminsky.
"We were fortunate because they had a number of open shots in transition in the first half, with good shooters that I think they normally make," Charlotte Coach Steve Clifford said. "We're lucky. I think we had eight, and they had good shots and they missed them."
But again, the Lakers fought back to outscore Charlotte in the third quarter.
Back-to-back dunks electrified Staples Center in the third quarter. First Tarik Black elevated for a one-handed dunk off an assist from Russell. Then Brandon Ingram took a pass from Russell and drove toward the basket for another dunk to tie the game at 76.
After three, the Lakers led 82-80.
Randle imposed his will in that third quarter, too. While he only had four points, he had nine rebounds in that period alone. It was a vintage performance from Randle, who often played like this early in the season.
"I told him before the game I wanted him to be more aggressive as far as looking to score," Walton said. "A lot lately, I think he's overthinking things and constantly looking to playmake. But the playmaking becomes available when you're putting pressure at the rim and then the help has to come in. He's so dynamic, it's really tough to stay in front of him with one person.
"I thought he did a great job of being aggressive but then recognizing ... his all around and how hard he played. That's the longest period of time he's played hard like that all season long. That's really exciting to see."
