Lebron James’ 46 points helps Lakers take down the Cavs, Lakers stay a perfect 10–0 on the road.
Akron Ohio’s very own Lebron James returned to Cleveland for the first time since 2018 in tonight’s Lakers win over the Cavs. Lebron James and the Lakers closed out late in the 4th quarter to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 115–108 and move to a 14–4 record on the season.
With tonight’s victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers the Lakers are now 10–0 on the road this season, increasing the franchise record.
In year 17, Lebron James had one of his best performances of the season, scoring a season high 46 points. Throughout the entire length of the game, it was a close battle between both teams, until the 4th quarter came and Lebron James took over. Lebron single handedly outscored the Cavs in the 4th quarter tonight, scoring 21 points to Clevelands 17 points.
In Lebron James 46 point performance tonight, he went 19 for 26 (73%) total from the field and 7 for 11 (63%) from the 3. To go along with that James also notched 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals in his return home to Cleveland. Lebron James is shooting a career high 41.2% from the 3 this season for the Lakers.
Head coach Frank Vogel and Anthony Davis were both asked about Lebron James 46 point performance tonight.
“Pretty awesome… shot making was ridiculous. One of the nights for the ages for him [Lebron]” — Frank Vogel
“It’s fun to watch, amazing to see the shots he takes, [Lebron’s] a hell of a player!” — Anthony Davis
After coming off a season high 37 points on Saturday in the win over the Bulls, Anthony Davis had an off shooting night tonight. Scoring 17 points on 5 of 16 (31%) shooting and 0 for 3 (0%) from the perimeter in 35 minutes. But, even in his off shooting night Anthony Davis still had an unbelievable impact achieving a double-double and disrupting the Cavs on the defensive end. Anthony Davis had 10 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals despite his off shooting night to help the Lakers take down the Cavs.
Despite a below average shooting percentage from the 3, the Lakers were able to win in the box score from different areas. Kyle Kuzma had a career high 6 offensive rebounds out of his 8 total tonight. Kuzma spoke after tonight’s victory on the importance of trying to out rebound against the stacked front court of this Cleveland team saying:
“It was very important to rebound against this Cleveland team, with their great centers. We knew it was going to be a tough task, we knew we were going to have to fight.”
Montrezl Harrell had another big night off the bench for this Lakers squad. Harrell finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds on 6 of 9 (66%) shooting in 25 minutes in tonight’s victory over Cleveland. With another double figure night in scoring, Harrell now has 10 straight games this season in double figures in the scoring column.
With tonight’s victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers the Lakers still remain with the top record in the NBA with a 14–4 record. The Lakers are 1 game ahead of the Los Angeles rival Clippers for the top spot in the association.
The Lakers will travel to Philadelphia against the 76ers on Wednesday for their 3rd game of a 7 game road trip. The 76ers are red hot this season with a 12–6 record and MVP front runner Joel Embiid. Look for a great matchup between Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid, who is averaging 27.7 points this season, which is 5th in the NBA. The Lakers will look to hold onto their NBA best record as they face a great challenge against a playoff 76ers team.