LeBron James led a furiously rally against the Toronto Raptors Friday night capped off by a huge steal and buzzer-beater by Russell Westbrook to send the game into overtime. On Saturday night, he was trying to get the Los Angeles Lakers to a winning streak for the first time in…quite a while.
Along the way, there was some history on the line. LeBron needed 20 points to claim second place all-time on the scoring list passing Karl Malone. Most knew that was going to happen due to the fact that the King dropped 50 on Washington back in Los Angeles. It’s really hard to explain how James can score only 38 points and play much better, but he did.
The problem was that every time he sat down on the bench the offense grinded to a halt. That problem along with the Lake Show allowing the Washington Wizards to hang around ended up with yet another road loss 127-119.
Not to bring up old stuff but it seems these reports are foreshadowing the future at this point. Remember this excerpt from the Toronto debacle earlier this week?
"…every time the Los Angeles Lakers start with their lineup, look for a loss!"
Saturday Night Starters#SuitingUpTogether | @ToyotaSoCal pic.twitter.com/1Ypj97vcOI
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 19, 2022
Breaking News to Lake Show Life…this wasn’t the starting lineup last night! Dwight Howard continued his DNP-CD reunion tour that came back to bite the Lakers in the fourth quarter. But more on that later!
The good from the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss:
LeBron James passed Karl Malone for second place all-time on the NBA’s scoring list.
Really was there anything else that was on center stage in this game?
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 20, 2022
LeBron James needed 20 points to pass the Mailman and due to the fact that the Washington Wizards can’t stop you the Lakers fan on defense, LeBron took care of this task midway through the second quarter. With this simple cut to the basket for an uncontested driving layup, LeBron now is only chasing the Captain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who scored 38,387 points.
LeBron smoked the Wizards for 38 points (16-29 shooting!), 10 rebounds and 6 assists.
Russell Westbrook looked relaxed in this game!
The staff of Lake Show Life said it. Shaquille O’Neal told him to his face and probably too many to name tried to get Russ to relax and play the game. Maybe that buzzer-beater against Toronto released the pressure valve but for the first time in a while, Westbrook looked like he had joy on his face. That level of peace and joy showed in his play because he shot very well through three quarters going 7-9 for 14 points.
He finished with 22 points (10-15 shooting!), 10 rebounds and 8 assists. There was a carryover from the previous game and consistency is the keyword going forward.
Malik Monk and Austin Reaves need more shots!
More importantly they need to realize that they need more shots. These guys are close and they need to use that chemistry to look for more shots. Malik Monk scored 17 points on 6-9 shooting which included a ridiculous fadeaway 3 point shot late going to his right. Reaves had 9 points on just 3-6 shooting. They do other things to fill the box scores too but they need opportunities.
They play that well together.