LOS ANGELES _ Toward the end of Sunday night's game, a glitch in the scoreboard at Staples Center caused the score to read: Lakers 120, Hornets 10.
It wasn't quite that bad for Charlotte, but a fourth-quarter deluge by the Lakers might have seemed that lopsided.
LeBron James pulled up to hit a three-pointer to give the Lakers a 19-point lead early in the quarter. He ran down the court with his hand still posed as it was when the ball left it. Then play stopped and he looked to the crowd, urging the fans to cheer louder.
The Hornets proved a pesky opponent for about three quarters, then the Lakers asserted their dominance, winning 120-101 to improve to 2-1. Anthony Davis scored 25 points in the first half, almost singlehandedly keeping the Lakers in the game, and finished with a game-high 29 points and 14 rebounds. James, despite going scoreless for most of the first half, finished with 20 points with 12 assists, and Dwight Howard scored 16 points with 10 rebounds.
In their preparation for the game, coach Frank Vogel impressed upon his team not to take the Hornets lightly, despite the predictions that they would be one of the worst teams in the NBA. Vogel noted their shooting in particular as a potential trap. In a season-opening win over the Chicago Bulls, Charlotte made 52% of its shots and 51% of its threes.
The Hornets made seven of 16 threes in the first half and led by as many as nine. Down seven with 4:39 left in the first quarter, the Lakers went on an 11-0 run to take control, but led by only a point at halftime, despite Davis' scoring outburst.
James had only four points and one field goal by that point _ hitting two free throws with 1:40 left in the half, then making a layup on the Lakers' next possession _ though he did have eight assists. Davis was the only Laker in double digits.
The Lakers led by seven after three quarters, before they changed the tenor of the game. Sixteen of James' 20 points came in the fourth quarter.
