Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' Sunday night matchup vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers where familiar faces, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. return to LA in Cavs' uniforms. But, it was not the result they wanted as I.T. earned sweet revenge and Randle and Lopez were just too much in the paint, giving the Lakers a decisive 113-127 win.
I'm looking at the final stats and Larry Nance showed out with 16 points, but Clarkson only chipped in 4 points here. I.T. alone scored the same amount of points as both of them combined. What a trade by Magic and Pelinka! Overall, good wire-to-wire win over the Cavs. Any team that has a LeBron James is a good win. The Cavs as a whole are just in an enigmatic limbo as a playoff team and rebuilding team. The likelihood of LeBron leaving the Cavs again has all signs of inevitability. The Lakers auditioned and they have a case for LeBron to come to LA as weird as that sounds. Pace, size, and unselfish ball movement were the Lakers' formula for victory tonight.
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Isaiah Thomas, 20 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists. I'm really happy with the way I.T. played tonight and you should too. I thought the Cavs trading him despite knowing he needs to recover from a major hip injury was a little too premature. The guy only played 17 games for them. As they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure and I.T. got the last laugh against the Cavs. I thought he showed really good balance as a scorer and facilitator. He didn't let the emotions of this game get the best of him, you talk about good poise and patience. He set up Randle, Lopez, and other teammates well for easy baskets and took over in the 4th to put this game away. Like I said, Magic and Rob have some vindication for trading for this man while sacrificing fan-favorite young pieces such as Clarkson and Nance.
Julius Randle, 36 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists. Randle vs. Nance was the hot topic of debate for Laker fans because of the logjam at the Power Forward position. Some favored Nance because of his basketball IQ and hustle while others favored Randle because of the upside and the rare balance of speed and power. After tonight, this shouldn't be a debate anymore. Randle straight up bullied Nance and the Cavs' inside presence to set a new career high. I couldn't imagine how tense that battle was during practices. You can tell Randle had something to prove here. They said LeBron bullying the Lakers was like man against boys. The same can be said with Randle and how he bullied his way to the basket. Great rapport with I.T. as well in transition and in pick-and-roll and give-n-go action.
Brook Lopez, 22 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks. This is the third straight game that Lopez logged 20+ points. I wanted Lopez to use his inside game more if his 3-point shot isn't falling and he has responded with that balance the last three games. Tonight was an absolute cakewalk as the Cavs lacked size in the front court and I expected Lopez to feast and he did. He also did a solid job on LeBron defensively. The Cavs wanted that switch with Lopez on LeBron as they did with LeBron on Lonzo. Brook did not back down from the challenge and held his own against arguably the best player in the world right now.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, 20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals. Of course, it's not a Laker win without KCP scoring and being on target from 3-point land. He had a hot start to the 1st quarter offensively and made some nice defensive plays, especially when he got the ball back for the Lakers after the Lakers committed a turnover.
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A couple of defensive lapses in the first half and getting a little too relaxed with the lead in fourth quarter before KCP's three, but they're only minor. Lakers did not have a lot of negatives to point out here in this game.
MVP
He is the Punisher. This was a three-way race between Randle, Lopez, and I.T. for MVP this game. But, Randle deserves it with this monster double-double and a new career high with 36 points. No player on that Cavs roster wanted any part of Julius tonight.
Conclusion
The Lakers now stand at 30 wins after this one. It's been awhile, but they finally made it over one hump after a couple of frustrating seasons. I said in my regular season back in October, that I'd be happy if the Lakers finished with 30-35 wins. The season is not even over yet and they could grab more. They have a brutal stretch ahead though as I look at their remaining schedule. But, you can't deny they continue to compete and find ways to win. Make no mistake, team is confident to take on any team in the NBA. Denver and Golden State next, two more pivotal games if the Lakers are thinking playoffs. Clearly, the Lakers are still thinking about Jamal Murray's disrespectful antics in the last two meetings with the Nuggets. If they want to shut him up, they have to shut him down. And a win against the Nuggets puts them closer to 8th seed. In terms of the Warriors, the Lakers have dropped three close games against them. Clearly, Golden State is hurting without Curry, but they're at Oracle and they have a chance to sweep the Lakers in regular season series for the first time in a long while. The Lakers will look to deny that again. Two big games for the upcoming week. And the good news, I'll be covering both of them on the blog! I'll see you guys later.
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