Lakers

It was an all-out duel on Saturday night as LeBron James' 56-point explosion combined with offensive struggles in the final frame resulted in a 124-116 ...

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LA Clippers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 132-111 during a NBA basketball game at. Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images. Share ...

That would put $15.7 million in dead money on the Lakers’ books for each of the next three seasons, a heavy anchor dragging down team building for years to come. The question then becomes: If the Lakers can’t construct a palatable trade, do they try to just buy Westbrook out? The challenge is making the divorce work because of Westbrook’s massive salary, $47.1 million. Or, even as a No. 1 option on the nights LeBron and Anthony Davis are out. The blame for that has to start with Laker GM Rob Pelinka — and LeBron himself, who pushed for this trade — for not envisioning how poorly a ball-dominant Westbrook would not work as a No. 3 option. It never lasts, and Marc Stein in his newsletter says that comes back to Westbrook.

James put up 40 points in 27 minutes and recorded three consecutive 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter.

His big night also marks the most points James has scored as a member of the Lakers. LeBron James recorded a season-high 56 points as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors 124-116 on Saturday night. With 34 seconds remaining, James kicked it out to Carmelo Anthony in the corner, who converted the game-sealing 3-pointer.

LeBron James' 56 points was only part of a strong Lakers performance against the Warriors that raises the question: Why can't they always play like that?

The Lakers had been waiting for a signature victory to boost their confidence and halt the miserable momentum that had pushed them to four straight losses and 11 in their previous 14 games. James, in an interview on national TV, said he was happiest to have performed so well in front of the home crowd, which hasn’t had much reason to cheer this season. “It’s just remarkable, his will, and I think the biggest thing is what he’s done to transition his game at this stage of his career in terms of his shooting, I mean it’s just an example to every player to put the work into his craft.” The Lakers never needed his will more than they did Saturday. A loss would have left them tied with New Orleans for 10th in the West. They’ve gone from hoping to win another title to praying they can squeeze into the league’s contrived play-in system and win two games to give themselves a second chance. James’ 56-point effort — five short of his career high but equal to the league best this season set by Atlanta’s Trae Young — was the obvious reason the Lakers were able to halt their latest downward spiral. Finally, they came up with the goods in spectacular fashion, riding LeBron James’ Lakers-high 56 points to win an exhilarating, back-and-forth marquee matchup against Golden State on Saturday that left only one question as confetti dropped from the ceiling and the sellout crowd at Crypto.com Arena tried to absorb what it had just seen:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James scored a season-high 56 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 124-116 on Saturday night to snap a ...

It was his 24th straight game with at least 25 points to extend the longest streak of James’ illustrious career. And then we built the lead back up to maybe 12 early in the third quarter, and the next few minutes were terrible. Golden State ran over Los Angeles with 42 points in the second quarter to take a 67-62 halftime lead. James then threw down a thunderous alley-oop from Monk, who stole the inbound pass after a Los Angeles turnover. I’m just happy we got the win,’” James said. “It’s funny, our [media] guys were following me off the floor tonight going to the locker room and they asked me how it feels to score 56.

The two teams met exactly three weeks ago in a game that featured a 15-point Laker comeback, a LBJ milestone, and a bitter ending in an otherwise wild showdown.

We’re trying to adjust and find ways to win with Anthony [Davis] out. It was the most points Thompson has scored since putting up 43 against the Knicks on Jan. 8, 2019 (prior to missing 941 days with a pair of serious leg injuries). No stone unturned, in terms of trying to find solutions to get this right. Missed free throws by LeBron and AD turned out to be the difference in the result. The Warriors enter with the best defensive rating (105.5) and best defensive efficiency (1.023) in the league and are allowing the fourth-fewest opponent points per game (104.3). Last season, the Lakers finished with the league’s best defensive rating (107.1), had the best defensive efficiency (1.042), and allowed the second-fewest opponent points per game (106.5).