Anthony Davis set season highs with 42 points and 23 rebounds to help the visiting Los Angeles Lakers beat the Charlotte Hornets 112-107 on Monday night.
Davis made 17 of 28 shots from the field and reached the 40-point mark for the third time this season. He grabbed eight offensive boards and finished three rebounds shy of matching his career high.
LeBron James racked up 22 points, seven rebounds and eight assists and Austin Reaves added 17 points for the Lakers, who have won four straight games and six of their past seven.
The Hornets played most of the game without their leading scorer, All-Star guard LaMelo Ball, who exited with 8:42 left in the second quarter.
Ball tripped while backpedaling after draining a 3-pointer that pulled Charlotte within 46-30. He didn’t return because of what the team announced as a left ankle sprain. He scored seven points in nine minutes.
Miles Bridges tallied 26 points and eight rebounds to lead the Hornets, who have lost three of their past four games. Josh Okogie posted 19 points and Josh Green had 15 points.
Charlotte trailed by as many as 23 points in the first half before cutting the deficit to nine at the break.
The Hornets mounted a couple of charges in the second half but couldn’t make enough defensive stops even though center Mark Williams was back after missing Saturday’s game with an injury.
Williams scored to pull the Hornets within 108-102 with 1:27 to play before Dorian Finney-Smith drove for a bucket for the Lakers.
Green sank three free throws with 13.3 seconds remaining to close the gap to 110-107 before Davis sealed it at the line for Los Angeles.
The Lakers, in their first outing of four games in six days on the East Coast, survived despite committing 19 turnovers and shooting 6-for-28 (21.4 percent) from 3-point range.
Los Angeles bolted to a 42-19 lead less than a minute into the second quarter. Then it was Charlotte’s turn to heat up, closing to within 59-51 by halftime.
The Lakers led by a double-figure margin for most of the third quarter.
–Field Level Media
