Boracay Island, Philippines – Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was sitting courtside. His presence may have inspired his heir apparent to crank his gear a notch higher, as LeBron James waxed hot, igniting a Lakers onslaught for an early 25-point cushion in the opening 9 minutes and give the Atlanta Hawks a sound beating 122-101 on Sunday night (Monday morning, Philippine time) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
The four-time league MVP made 12 of his game high 33 points during that span. He also buried 6 treys, to go along with 7 rebounds, 12 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in 33 minutes of action. Even more impressive was the fact that he did all these, while not committing a single turnover throughout the game.
Six other Lakers contributed double-digit scoring, led by Kyle Kuzma’s 17 off-the-bench. Anthony Davis added a pedestrian 14-point, 5-board production, but was excellent in defending the rim with 5 blocks to his name.
Trae Young led Atlanta with 31 markers and 7 dimes, but wasn’t particularly careful with the ball, as he committed 8 turnovers.
The Hawks, who dropped to 4 wins and 9 losses, will return home on Wednesday night (Thursday morning, Philippine time) to host the Milwaukee Bucks.
Meanwhile, the Lakers, who improved to an 11-2 win-loss card, will wrap up their 4-game homestand, as they host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning, Philippine time).
How they scored:
Lakers 122 – James 33, Kuzma 17, Rondo 15, Davis 14, Cardwell-Pope 13, Green 11, Caruso 11, McGee 2, Howard 2, Cook 2, Daniels 2
Hawks 101 – Young 31, Reddish 13, Parker 11, Hunter 11, Crabbe 11, Turner 7, Jones 4, Fernando 4, Bembry 4, Len 3, Brown 2
AROUND THE LEAGUE:
(Road Team – Home Team)
PHI 114 – 95 CLE
BOS 99 – 100 SAC
DEN 131 – 114 MEM
WSH 121 – 125 ORL
GSW 100 – 108 NOP
GAMES TODAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019 CT:
CLE @ NYK 8:00 AM CT
IND @ BKN 8:30 AM CT
CHA @ TOR 8:30 AM CT
POR @ HOU 9:00 AM CT
MIL @ CHI 9:00 AM CT
SAS @ DAL 9:30 AM CT
BOS @ PHX 10:00 AM CT
MIN @ UTAH 10:00 AM CT
OKC @ LAC 11:30 AM CT
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