James shines in 1,300th regular-season game
LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles Lakers blew a 14-point, fourth-quarter lead in their first meeting against the Golden State Warriors. They were determined not to let that happen on Sunday (Monday in Manila).
LeBron James scored 19 points in his 1,300th regular-season appearance as the Lakers routed the Warriors 117-91. He was one of six Los Angeles players to score in double figures in a game that was never in doubt.
The Lakers were up 20 at the end of the first quarter and had a 73-44 lead at halftime.
“Our starters played terrific,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “They had a mindset to make sure they took care of business against a team that stole one from us the last time.”
Forward Markieff Morris was a little more direct about the revenge factor.
Vogel said the best thing to come out of the game was that James played a season-low 24 minutes and sat during the fourth quarter.
Kyle Kuzma had 12 points and 11 rebounds for his eighth double-double this season, while Morris and Alex Caruso each scored a season-high 13 points.
The defending NBA champions had dropped five of six since Anthony Davis suffered a right calf strain on February 14 but have won their last two.
“When you lose a mega piece like AD, it is going to take some time offensively and defensively on how we want to play. Over the last couple games, we have done a good job,” said James, who’s the 23rd player in NBA history to appear in at least 1,300 regular-season games.
Eric Paschall scored 18 points for Golden State, which had its three-game winning streak snapped. Stephen Curry added 16 points and Kelly Oubre Jr., 14.
The Warriors rallied for a 115-113 victory on January 18 at Staples Center, but were dominated from the opening tip. Los Angeles went on a 16-2 run to take a 20-5 lead with 7:23 remaining in the first quarter as four of its first six field goals were three-pointers.
The Lakers ended the quarter with 12 straight points to go up 41-21. James had 10 points in the quarter, including two on free throws as Los Angeles was 13 of 16 from the line in the quarter.
Los Angeles had a season-high 73 first-half points as it extended its lead to 29 at halftime. Its largest lead was 35 late in the third quarter.