Lakers put on show fit for king

Their young talent is on display to James, whose triple-double leads Cavaliers to win.

CLEVELAND — Before he left the court after the game, LeBron James pulled Lonzo Ball close, one of the greatest NBA players ever meeting a rookie who grew up wanting to be just like him.

What they talked about might remain a mystery forever.

“Nothing,” Ball said, when asked what James told him.

“None of y’all business,” James said later.

The Lakers closed their four-game trip with a 121-112 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. But as recruiting pitches go, this one wasn’t bad.

If the mission was to show James that the Lakers he could join in free agency next summer were a young group of talented players who cared about competing and had pride in their games and whom he could help take to the next level, they did that Thursday night.

Brandon Ingram caught fire early and scored 26 points through three quarters. Ball neared a tripledouble with 13 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, complete with at least one signature outlet pass and a steal from James. Rookies Josh Hart (11 points) and Kyle Kuzma (20 points) reached double figures. They all pestered James and his elite band of Eastern Conference kings and even when the Cavaliers went on backbreaking runs, the Lakers didn’t fold.

“I think that we showed what our identity is going to be, we are just not all the way there yet,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said. “It is tough to do it for entire stretches of games.”