Lakers player grades: L.A. ends losing streak thanks to LeBron James
LeBron James led a short-handed Lakers team to victory over an even more hobbled Warriors squad with a masterful performance.
After three straight losses, and with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sidelined for an indefinite amount of time, the Los Angeles Lakers desperately needed to find a way to get back on track. On Thursday, they headed north to face the Golden State Warriors , a team that has its own serious issues. It's hard to find another NBA team that is currently more short-handed than the Lakers, but that's the situation Golden State is in.
It had a whopping eight players unavailable for Thursday's contest due to injury or illness, including Stephen Curry. The Purple and Gold were very happy to take advantage. They took an early 16-8 lead, but offensive rebounding and second-chance points kept Golden State in it throughout the first quarter.
Three quick turnovers early in the second quarter allowed Golden State to put together nine unanswered points and go ahead 32-28. However, the Lakers responded with a 17-4 run and were up 53-49 at halftime and 82-73 after three quarters, and by scoring the first eight points of the fourth period, they put the game out of reach. Although Los Angeles didn't score a lot of points, it did put together a very efficient performance offensively.
It shot 61. 3% from the field and 55. 2% from 3-point range, and it notched 37 assists on 49 made baskets.
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