Lakers fall short to the Warriors on LeBron's historic night.
In the first game after the NBA trade deadline, the Lakers played their first matchup with the same roster that most thought would be different, playing a hard-fought battle against the 2nd seed Warriors, falling short to Golden State 117–115 to drop their third straight and fall five games behind .500 to 26–31.
On another night, where LeBron James led the Lakers in scoring, he set a new NBA record by overtaking Laker and NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in all-time points scored (including regular season and playoffs), eclipsing Kareem’s 44,149 points at 44,157 points.
After the game, LeBron spoke on his historic accomplishment of passing Kareem, saying: “Throughout my career, whenever I’ve been linked with some of the greats, I’ve been in awe.”
With the Warriors just shooting 32% from three, the Lakers were still unable to climb back in the win column despite shooting higher percentages from the floor than Golden State, shooting 41% (11-for-27) from three and 47% (41-for-88) overall to the Warriors 44% from the field.
LeBron finished with a team-high 26 points on a tough night from the floor, shooting just 33% on 9 for 27 overall, adding 15 rebounds and 8 assists in 38 minutes of action.
With the trade deadline over, Russell Westbrook looked more comfortable in the Lakers lineup, showing that the trade rumors might have lifted some weight off his shoulders as he finished second in scoring for the Lakers with 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists with a shooting percentage of 54% (7-for-35) in 35 minutes.
Head coach Frank Vogel spoke on Westbrook’s performance, saying he “played with a great competitive spirit” tonight against the Warriors, also explaining, “He was really locked into what we were trying to do defensively, really communicating with guys.”
Westbrook added optimism despite the loss, saying: “I’m optimistic and happy the way we played the game.”
Anthony Davis was third in scoring for the Lakers, finishing with 16 points on 38% (5-for-13) shooting, adding 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks in 35 minutes of action.
Anthony Davis said that it “lifted weight off the shoulders” with the trade deadline over now. Later saying: “This is our team, let’s go.”
Austin Reaves and Talen Horton-Tucker provided reliable energy for the Lakers bench with Carmelo Anthony still out of the lineup, with both scoring in double-figures, as Horton-Tucker finished with 17 points and 7 rebounds, and Reaves finished with 13 points on 100% (5-for-5) shooting.
LeBron spoke on the impact of Horton-Tucker and Reaves off the bench, saying: “They were great. On both sides of the floor. They were great tonight, and we needed every bit of it.”
The Lakers’ next matchup comes next Wednesday night before the all-star break at home against the Utah Jazz, who sit at 35–21 this season in a matchup that will be a tough challenge for the Lakers to get back in the win column.