LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers close out the Hornets and the year. In the final home game of the season, the Lakers third quarter surge powered them to a win over Charlotte, 133-112, at Crypto.com Arena.
The Lakers’ starting lineup experiment continued on Thursday night. With Cam Reddish sidelined by a groin injury, head coach Darvin Ham elected to start Rui Hachimura in his place alongside LeBron James, Jarred Vanderbilt, Taurean Prince, and Anthony Davis.
Los Angeles ended the first quarter with a 31-28 deficit and trailed by as much as nine points.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the Lakers win over the Hornets:
Christian Wood and Max Christie made the most of their minutes
Christian Wood and Max Christie saw their first game action since the Dec. 15 road loss to the Spurs.
Christie gave the Lakers a much-needed boost in the second quarter with two blocks and a corner three-pointer. The Lakers had positive minutes when he was in the game. Wood and Christie combined for 19 points on six-for-eight shooting, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
The Lakers went into halftime with a one-point advantage, 58-57, as Anthony Davis led all-scorers with 18 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
Los Angeles started the second half with a burst of energy. Los Angeles outscored Charlotte 41-23 to start the third quarter. The Lakers’ second unit with Russell, Reaves, Christie, Hachimura and Wood went on a 14-5 run to end the quarter.
Anthony Davis posterizes the Hornets
The first was against Miles Bridges in the first quarter.
The Lakers will finish the year with back-to-back road games in Minnesota and New Orleans.
