LeBron Returns to “The Land” in Dominating Fashion

LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks the ball during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 21, 2022 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.

Following a harrowing defeat to the Wizards Saturday night, the Lakers (31-41) came out and put on a full display of team basketball in their 131-120 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Back-and-forth throughout most of the night, the Lake Show turned their game up in the final quarter and outscored the Cavs 35-23.

The Kid from Akron led the charge in his homecoming and was sensational for the full 48 minutes. Whether he was dunking on former teammate, Kevin Love, knocking down insane turnaround jumpers, or making sweet bounce passes to a cutting Malik Monk, The King was on fire all night long.

The King

LeBron knocked down 17-of-29 from the floor for 38 points and notched 12 assists, and 11 rebounds for his sixth triple-double of the season. At 37, James is the oldest player in NBA history to register a 30-point triple-double.

He does it all 👑

Despite his individual dominance, James had immense help from his Laker teammates as six of 10 Lakers to play tonight finished with double digits (including LBJ).

The Laker point guards were especially good tonight. Russell Westbrook earned his second double-double in three games, with a 20-point, 11 assist performance and hit 50.0 percent from the field (7-of-14).

D.J. Augustin had his best night since joining the Purple and Gold and finished a perfect 6-for-6 night from beyond the arc (7-for-7 from the field) for 20 points.

The point guards delivered 🙌 #LakersWin

Malik Monk and Stanley Johnson each added 12 points and a combined five rebounds and four assists, and Austin Reaves contributed 11 points, six assists, and five rebounds.

The team finished with 34 total assists and only turned the ball over eight times.

The Lakers will return to Los Angeles and prep for a Wednesday showdown with the visiting Philadelphia 76ers.

Comments

Bill Russell Once Explained Why He Didn't Bother With Celtics Fans: "When I Was A Star, The Fans Called Us The 'Boston Globetrotters' Because The Celtics Had Black Players."

While the NBA is a beacon for freedom and tolerance in America, things didn't start off that way. In a place like Boston, during the 50s and 60s, racial tension was a pretty serious problem, and superstar big man Bill Russell had to deal with it on a game-to-game basis. Today, it can be hard for us to imagine just how difficult being a black basketball player really was back then. Fortunately, we have some clips: "The number one paper was the Boston Herald and they didn't like the idea of an NBA team having black players. Out there, the star was Bob Cousy. No matter what I did, Cousy was the star. I remember I had a game where I had 25 points, 25 rebounds, 10 blocks, and the Boston Herald said I was lucky to play with Cousy." Unfortunately, the media didn't give Russell his respect back then. Despite being the best player on the court, and on his team, Cousy and others always got the spotlight. Even the fans weren't very accepting of Bill: "I didn't...

From Deep: At long last, Nikola Jokic's Nuggets can envision getting to the top of the mountain

Jamal Murray tore his ACL on April 12, 2021. Leading up to that night, he'd been playing at an All-NBA level for two months: In a 25-game stretch, Murray averaged 24.1 points on .509/.459/.935 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He was even more efficient than he was in the bubble playoffs, and his defense had improved, too. Murray only got to play with Aaron Gordon, the Denver Nuggets' big trade-deadline addition, for five games. They won them all except the one in which Murray got injured. In 110 minutes, their new starting five scored slightly more efficiently than any iteration of the Kevin Durant-era death lineup in Golden State and defended like a top-five team. Two Nikola Jokic MVP awards later, Murray is back. So is Michael Porter Jr., who signed a five-year extension about a year ago and needed back surgery nine games into the 2020-21 season. The Nuggets remember how easily everything slid into place with Gordon in the mix. Newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pop...

Sixers' James Harden backs teammate Joel Embiid for MVP: 'He deserves it, man'

James Harden has been a member of the Philadelphia 76ers for less than two months, but that's been more than enough time for him to appreciate the brilliance of Joel Embiid. The duo is expected to help the Sixers compete for a championship, but Harden believes another trophy should be on its way to Philly this year. In an interview with Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Harden backed Embiid for MVP, saying "he deserves it, man." "I've only been here for a few weeks, but I already see his mindset," Harden said. "He wants to win. Some guys just want numbers, but he has both. He has the mentality of winning, and he scores the ball at a high level. I think he's prepared himself, especially coming off last year, for this year to be one of his best years." This has indeed been one of Embiid's best years. He's averaging a career-high 29.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.4 blocks while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 35.8 percent f...

Crossover World

Search This Blog