L.A. fit for a King? Lakers dump Cavs
Young team auditions for James’ favor
LOS ANGELES — If this game was a Hollywood audition, the young
Los Angeles Lakers did well enough to impress budding entertainment mogul Lebron James.
The Lakers will have to wait until summer to find out whether they earned a callback — or maybe even got the part.
Julius Randle had a career-high 36 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, and the Lakers put on a show in front of James with a 127-113 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.
Isaiah Thomas had 20 points, nine assists and five rebounds against his former teammates as the Lakers roared away from the defending Eastern Conference champions in the second half with their exciting, energetic style under coach Luke Walton.
The Lakers looked hungry, exciting and full of potential. They hope that’s attractive to James, who can be a free agent this summer.
“Since Luke took over, they’ve improved every single season, I think,” said James, who had 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. “They just try to implement that ball movement, that body movement that he got when he was in Golden State.”
Although no one on either side is able to talk about it yet, this game seemed to carry added importance for the Lakers and James, who will be at a crossroads shortly in his incredible career.
Magic Johnson has spent the past year making moves — including the trade that sent Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson to Cleveland last month — to get the Lakers into prime salary-cap position to chase elite free agents this summer. The top name on that list likely is to be James, who has a player option for next year.
The three-time NBA champion already has a $23 million mansion in Brentwood and a burgeoning career in entertainment production, so a move to L.A. could be a logical step. But James is unlikely to join a team that can’t immediately contend for championships with his addition.
The Lakers’ entire season has been designed to prove their young core of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and probably Randle could fit splendidly around James, Paul George or Demarcus Cousins — or, failing that, the top free agents in the class of 2019.
The Lakers’ exciting performance against Cleveland underlined that notion, for whatever it’s worth in James’ mind.
At New York, Jonas Valanciunas scored 17 points to lead seven double-figure scorers for Toronto, which fell one point shy of its highest total of the season and won their season-high eighth straight. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 25 points for New York, which lost its seventh in a row.
At Boston, Victor Oladipo scored 27 points before committing a dead-ball offensive foul with 1.5 seconds left that gave Boston a shot to win. Terry Rozier missed a final shot for the Celtics, who led by 10 at halftime before losing Kyrie Irving to a sore left knee.
At Minneapolis, Karl-anthony Towns had 31 points and 16 rebounds for Minnesota, which halted a season-worst three-game skid. Kevin Durant had 39 points and 12 rebounds for Golden State, which was without Stephen Curry (right ankle sprain) for a second straight game.
At
New Orleans, Ricky Rubio had 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for Utah, which overcame Anthony Davis’ first triple-double to win its sixth straight. Davis had 25 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 blocks in his return from a left ankle sprain.
At Dallas, Eric Gordon had 26 points and Chris Paul 24 points and 12 assists for Houston, which was without James Harden (sore left knee) but moved 1½ games ahead of Golden State for the league’s best record. Dwight Powell scored 20 points to lead Dallas.
At Atlanta, Zach Lavine scored 21 points, including four free throws in the final 17 seconds to stop Atlanta’s comeback. Taurean Prince scored a career-high 38 points for the Hawks, who lost Kent Bazemore (right knee sprain) and Jaylen Morris (left ankle sprain).
At New York, Joel Embiid scored 21 points and Robert Covington 19 for Philadelphia, which avenged a January loss at Brooklyn. D’angelo Russell scored 26 points for the Nets, who have lost 13 of their past 15.
At Denver, Nikola Jokic had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh triple-double of the season for Denver, which led by as many as 36 points.
Raptors 132, Knicks 106 — Pacers 99, Celtics 97 — Timberwolves 109, Warriors 103 — Jazz 116, Pelicans 99 — Rockets 105, Mavericks 82 — Bulls 129, Hawks 122 — 76ers 120, Nets 97 — Nuggets 130, Kings 104 —