Lakers

According to some sources, there is no way that Russell Westbrook ends up with the Lakers next season.

And judging by how they approached the trade deadline, that might be very accurate. But at this point in the season, the validity of that excuse has long passed. The idea was there, but the execution of bringing Russ over to mix in with Anthony Davis and LeBron James hasn't worked out.

LeBron James notched his 13th career 50-point game, registering his highest scoring total since joining the Lakers in 2018, in a 124-116 win that snapped a ...

A few years down the line, it became a lot of pass and cut. After the Lakers staved off a potential Warriors rally in the closing moments, James hugged Stephen Curry, shared a laugh with Davis and left the court with a wide smile. Golden State (43-21), mired in a slump of its own, lost for the fourth straight time to slip to third in the Western Conference. James took advantage of the spread floor that resulted, driving to the hoop and then stepping into three-pointers when the Warriors tried to encourage him to shoot. It was really big, especially in a game that we needed to win.” The four-time MVP also matched Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young for the most points in a game this season.

LeBron James' 56 points was only part of a strong Lakers performance against the Warriors that raises the question: Why can't they always play like that?

The Lakers had been waiting for a signature victory to boost their confidence and halt the miserable momentum that had pushed them to four straight losses and 11 in their previous 14 games. James, in an interview on national TV, said he was happiest to have performed so well in front of the home crowd, which hasn’t had much reason to cheer this season. “It’s just remarkable, his will, and I think the biggest thing is what he’s done to transition his game at this stage of his career in terms of his shooting, I mean it’s just an example to every player to put the work into his craft.” The Lakers never needed his will more than they did Saturday. A loss would have left them tied with New Orleans for 10th in the West. They’ve gone from hoping to win another title to praying they can squeeze into the league’s contrived play-in system and win two games to give themselves a second chance. James’ 56-point effort — five short of his career high but equal to the league best this season set by Atlanta’s Trae Young — was the obvious reason the Lakers were able to halt their latest downward spiral. Finally, they came up with the goods in spectacular fashion, riding LeBron James’ Lakers-high 56 points to win an exhilarating, back-and-forth marquee matchup against Golden State on Saturday that left only one question as confetti dropped from the ceiling and the sellout crowd at Crypto.com Arena tried to absorb what it had just seen:

'Impossible to stay': $64m Lakers issue as 'defiant' Russ refuses to be benched in 'tense' coach chat.

We’ve talked about everything we can do with our team. “So I’m just trying to figure that out as I’m playing and to be able to benefit and help my team.” We have talked about that. New BINGE customers Try 14-Days Free > “The coaching staff and Westbrook have had differing visions on how best to utilize the 2017 NBA Most Valuable Player,” Adrian Wojnarowski wrote. “For all the obvious complexities involved in trying to move Westbrook when he’s owed a whopping $47 million ($A63.8 million) next season at age 34, one league source described the idea of bringing him back next season as “impossible” based on current tension levels.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James scored a season-high 56 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 124-116 on Saturday night to snap a ...

It was his 24th straight game with at least 25 points to extend the longest streak of James’ illustrious career. And then we built the lead back up to maybe 12 early in the third quarter, and the next few minutes were terrible. Golden State ran over Los Angeles with 42 points in the second quarter to take a 67-62 halftime lead. James then threw down a thunderous alley-oop from Monk, who stole the inbound pass after a Los Angeles turnover. I’m just happy we got the win,’” James said. “It’s funny, our [media] guys were following me off the floor tonight going to the locker room and they asked me how it feels to score 56.

The two teams met exactly three weeks ago in a game that featured a 15-point Laker comeback, a LBJ milestone, and a bitter ending in an otherwise wild showdown.

We’re trying to adjust and find ways to win with Anthony [Davis] out. It was the most points Thompson has scored since putting up 43 against the Knicks on Jan. 8, 2019 (prior to missing 941 days with a pair of serious leg injuries). No stone unturned, in terms of trying to find solutions to get this right. Missed free throws by LeBron and AD turned out to be the difference in the result. The Warriors enter with the best defensive rating (105.5) and best defensive efficiency (1.023) in the league and are allowing the fourth-fewest opponent points per game (104.3). Last season, the Lakers finished with the league’s best defensive rating (107.1), had the best defensive efficiency (1.042), and allowed the second-fewest opponent points per game (106.5).