The Los Angeles Lakers continued their winning ways on Sunday night as they rode a big second half to defeat the Charlotte Hornets, 120-101. LeBron James dished a season-high 12 assists on the night go with 20 points, including 14 in the 4th quarter. For most of the night, LeBron was setting his teammates up and Anthony Davis took care of the scoring, leading the Lakers with 29 points.
In addition to the play of the two superstars, the Lakers got major contributions off the bench from Dwight Howard (16 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks) and Alex Caruso (a plus-17 in 13 minutes, all in the second half). Howard was solid all night long while head coach Frank Vogel once again saved Caruso for the second half before helping them close out the game.
LeBron had eight of his assists in the first half but had 16 of his points in the second half. Davis was dominant on the interior and also had a much better night shooting from the outside on Sunday, going 3-5 on 3-pointers.
After not playing in the first half, Caruso entered the game in the 3rd quarter with the Lakers only up by two. Caruso’s energy on defense was a spark but the Lakers got plenty of contributions on the night to compliment their two stars. Even Kentavious Caldwell-Pope got loose for a couple of 3-pointers on his way to 10 points.
The Lakers play again Tuesday against the Memphis Grizzlies, who just notched their first win of the season against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.
