THE Lakers made a little bit of history en route to a 128-100 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night. LeBron James and Lonzo Ball became the first set of Lakers since Jan. 22, 1982 to earn triple-doubles in the same game. The two who did it then? Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Lakers led against the Hornets by as many as 36 points. James finished with 24 points on seven-for-15 shooting and eight of 12 free throws. He had 12 rebounds and 11 assists, and did not play in the fourth quarter. Ball finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, in one of his most complete games as an NBA player. It was James’ 75th career triple-double and Ball’s third. “We’re one and the same when it comes to our playmaking ability,” James said. “We’re always looking for our teammates and that’s the greatest satisfaction we can have when we see our teammates score the ball. We’ve always been pretty good rebounders for our position, him at the guard spot, me at the forward spot. And then being able to put the ball in the hole as well. We just try to be aggressive, attack the rim, make shots from the outside when guys disrespect us and we showed all of that tonight.” Tired after an overtime loss to the New York Knicks on Friday night, the Hornets found themselves in an early hole. With 2 minutes 37 seconds left in the first quarter, the Lakers had an 11-point lead and an 11-0 advantage over the Hornets in fastbreak points. James scored 12 points during the period. JaVale McGee scored eight points in the first quarter, making all four of his shots. The Lakers led by seven points at halftime, but blew the game open in the third quarter when they outscored Charlotte 40-17. At that point, Hornets point guard Kemba Walker had made only two of 13 shots and none of his five three-point attempts. Ball’s defense was a big part of that.(SD-Agencies) |