Brandon Ingram bounced back quickly after an off shooting night on Tuesday's loss to the Knicks, scoring 26 points to go with 6 rebounds and 6 assists. But, the King reigned tonight as the Cavs powered their way past the Lakers 112-121 behind LeBron James' triple-double. Lonzo Ball recorded a near triple-double of his own in his first matchup against LeBron, racking up 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists. Josh Hart filled in for KCP and played well, recording a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Kyle Kuzma lead the 2nd unit with 20 points to go with 7 rebounds while Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson followed with 13 points from Randle and 11 points from JC.
Final Score: @ Cleveland 112-121 [L]
Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20171214/LALCLE#/recap
Next Game: vs. Golden State (12/18) <= *Open Thread and Full Recap Posts*
Highlights: *Courtesy of MLG Highlights*
The silver lining here in this game is that the Lakers kept fighting back in this game. It's an ongoing narrative that when it looks like the Lakers were down and out, they just kept battling back. But in the end, LeBron and the Cavs were just too good. If you're not following what they're doing, they've found their footing with the new look roster. Outside of that, one positive in here was Brandon Ingram. He had a nice bounce back game after shooting a horrendous 2-12 back in the game against New York. Every player has off nights and they bounce back the next game. He's learning that process in his 2nd year. He had everything going tonight offensively, attacking the rim and hitting the outside shots. Kuzma had another great night. Josh Hart, filling in for KCP really stood out. A double-double as a first time starter is not too bad and he showed no fear taking it to the rim with LeBron ready to chase down. Hart has been the forgotten 1st round pick in the Lakers' 2017 draft class and he's had a couple of quiet good games this season. With the legal issues surrounding KCP (not sure it's from his DUI arrest that lead to a two-game suspension this season or another legal issue), Hart is going to have all kinds of opportunities to show out. The last two games from Lonzo Ball is an encouraging sign, having a near triple-double here this game after notching 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists in the last game against the Knicks. I'm not going to buy into the hype train regarding the end of game conversation Ball had with LeBron. Everybody's screaming "LeBronzo to LA," but I'm sure it's just LeBron giving some advice to Zo. This game marks the beginning of the Lakers' hardest stretch this season before Christmas. The next set, they have Golden State twice at home and on the road, on the road against Houston, and at home against Portland where they haven't won against Lillard and co since the 2013-14 season. It'd be encouraging signs if the Lakers competed like in this game against the Cavs in those games. They almost had the Warriors in the first meeting, but they didn't have the manpower in OT to take them down. That game is also going to be the night where Kobe Bryant's 8 and 24 jerseys are going to be hung on the Staples Center rafters. Perhaps that could provide the Lakers some juice and instill a little bit of Mamba Mentality in the young team to best the Warriors this time around. I'll see you guys for that game on Monday.
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