4. Historic performance
There weren’t many positives during this four-game road trip for the Lakers. It is tough to find many good things when a team loses three of four games, two of which were of blowout fashion. However, that win provided a historic performance.
In the blowout victory over the Hornets, the Lakers saw LeBron James and Lonzo Ball both record triple-doubles. James finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, while Ball finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
.@KingJames showed love for @ZO2_ right after they both dropped triple-doubles 💪 pic.twitter.com/XsW7n3Cuvo
— ESPN (@espn) December 16, 2018
James and Ball were the first Lakers teammates to record a triple-double in the same game since 1982 when Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it. It was the first time that feat was accomplished in the NBA since 2007 when Vince Carter and Jason Kidd did it with the New Jersey Nets.
In the history of the NBA, this feat has been accomplished only nine times. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen did in 1989 with the Chicago Bulls. Larry Bird and Robert Parrish did it in 1987 with the Boston Celtics. Lenny Wilkens and Art Harris did in 1969 with the Seattle SuperSonics. Ray Scott and Donnie Butcher did it in with the Detroit Pistons in 1964. Oscar Robertson and Arlen Bockhorn accomplished it in 1962 with the Cincinnati Royals. The first time it was ever done was in 1958 by the Boston Celtics’ Bob Cousy and Tom Heinsohn.