Despite the efforts of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers were never in the game and lost 134-110 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
AD and LeBron tried to shoulder the load, but it wasn’t enough. AD scored 22 points with 13 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists and a block. LeBron had 26 points with six rebounds and three assists.
D’Angelo Russell scored 10 points with five assists. Both Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura had a tough night. Austin had seven points and Rui ended with eight points.
There was no real production off the bench for Los Angeles. Dalton Knecht’s 18 points all came in garbage time in the fourth.
This is Los Angeles’ second loss in a row, which makes them winless on the road.
Austin started things off with a layup and LeBron followed it with a dunk in the next possession. The Lakers jumped to an early four-point lead, but Cleveland was cooking offensively and cut that lead fast.
After two consecutive turnovers from AD trying to force the ball to LeBron, Donovan Mitchell knocked down two 3-pointers to put the Cavaliers up by five.
Cleveland was showing exactly why they are undefeated to start the season. They went eight for 13 from behind the arc and led 42-23 at the end of the first.
A pass from LeBron to Jaxson Hayes for an emphatic dunk started things off for L.A. in the second. Los Angeles struggled to defend Cleveland; they were getting everything they wanted around the rim.
L.A. was also turning the ball over at an alarming rate, with 11 turnovers in the first half/
The Lakers tried to slowly chip away at the 23-point lead Cleveland had built. With 8:22 left until halftime, L.A. was within 18.
L.A.’s significant lack of offense hindered their ability to find some momentum. LeBron was the only player to score in double digits, while the bench was atrocious, and the rest of the starting five struggled.
It was a rough end to the half, with AD hobbling a little in pain and the Lakers down 19.
Both teams picked up where they left off in the first half, with the Cavaliers scoring and the Lakers turning the ball over. Cleveland jumped ahead by 24, their largest lead of the game thus far.
The Lakers went on an 8-0 run, spearheaded by LeBron, to chip away at the deficit. The run featured a fastbreak layup by Rui, bringing the Lakers within 16. AD tried taking over offensively, scoring a layup and converting on an and-1.
Just when the Lakers had found some momentum, Cleveland hit back with a mini Georges Niang 5-0 run and the lead was 21.
No matter how much the Lakers tried fighting back, the Cavs could not be stopped. At the end of the third, L.A. was down 20.
Evan Mobley went on an 8-0 run to start the final frame and pile onto Cleveland’s already ballooning lead.
It was the Mobley show, as he was the only Cavalier scoring. The Lakers were scoring much better, but there was nothing they could do to stop Cleveland’s offense. The rest of the quarter turned into garbage minutes and Bronny James checked into the game to a nice roar from the Cleveland crowd.
Dalton had great productive minutes in the fourth that L.A. will need to carry over into the next games. In a memorable moment, Bronny scored his first bucket of the season on a great midrange shot.
After that Bronny basket, it was just cardio for the Lakers.
Key Takeaways:
The bench desperately needs more production. If the Lakers want more wins, they need to get more from players like Gabe Vincent and Max Christie.
The turnovers were incredibly awful all night long. They ended with 20. That can’t happen. It shouldn’t happen. If they can clean it up, they’ll give themselves better opportunities to find momentum.
The Lakers’ next game is Friday against the Toronto Raptors at 4:30 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
