The Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers each entered Thursday night's game in desperate need of a jolt. The Cavs were riding a six-game losing streak and were trying to integrate LeBron James back into the lineup, while the Lakers had lost four of their last five. The two teams traded blows all night, but Cleveland took control in the second half and finished off a 109-102 victory at the Staples Center.
Cavaliers vs. Lakers final score: 3 things we learned as Cleveland snapped its losing streak
LeBron James’ big night powered the Cavs to a critical win in Los Angeles.
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
It was an up-and-down game for LeBron, but the Cavs star found an extra gear in the third quarter. James scored 12 of his 36 points in the third quarter as Cleveland started to take control of the game. James looked disoriented at times in the first half, but rallied to show how great he can still be. James also added five rebounds and five assists in his second game back after missing eight games with back and knee trouble.
Kobe Bryant set a new career-high for assists in the loss, finishing the night with 19 points, 17 assists and five rebounds. Los Angeles also got a huge game out of center Jordan Hill, who finished with 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting on the night.
Cleveland improved to 20-20 with the victory, while the Lakers fell to 12-28. Here are three things we learned:
1. LeBron James is still capable of finding an extra gear
You may not believe it looking at the box score at the end of the night, but James didn’t look good in the first half. His defense was lackadaisical, his jumper was off and he even missed an open alley-oop. Just as the entire Internet was getting jokes in at LeBron’s expense, the Cavs forward decided shift the narrative with an incredible second half.
Even though both the Cavs and LeBron have underwhelmed this season, there's still a reason he entered the night averaging 25.5 points, 7.5 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. James hasn't looked like himself, but he's certainly still young enough to start playing like the man who led the Heat to four straight trips to the NBA Finals.
2. Kobe Bryant is an amazing passer ... when he wants to be
Bryant entered the night leading the NBA in shot attempts per game. He’s drawn a lot of criticism for his inefficient play this season, but masked the fact that he’s an incredible passer when he decides to get his teammates involved.
Is Kobe the best two-guard passer ever? Let's assume Big O is a PG.
— Tom Ziller (@teamziller) January 16, 2015 Bryant was that good in handing out 16 assists on the night. Let’s appreciate the finer points of his game while we still can.
3. This was a very entertaining game between two struggling teams
From Bryant laughing at LeBron for bricking the alley-oop to the outstanding play of James' third quarter, this was definitely a fun game. The Cavs aren't complete yet, at least not until Iman Shumpert is integrated into the lineup. The defense did look better with Timofey Mozgov. The Cavs have a long way to go, and the Lakers' path to success might be two or three seasons down the road.
Either way, for at least one night, LeBron and Kobe gave us an enjoyable game. Can’t ask for much more than that.
See More:
