LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers (31-41) took on Darius Garland and the Cleveland Cavaliers (41-31) in part of the NBA Monday slate. The Lakers came out on top with 131-120 being the final score.
Both teams shared their moments trading blows with each other. The Cavaliers held a 38-28 lead through the end of the first quarter, but the Lakers answered back by outscoring them by 12 points in the second quarter. The Cavs once again outscored Los Angeles coming out of the half but a 12-point scoring differential in the final period from the “Lake Show” got the win.
The clear-cut top storyline in this game was LeBron James playing in Cleveland for potentially one of the few final times in his NBA career barring a change of team. He put on a show once again with with 38 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists while leading the Lakers to a win.
“They’ve seen pretty much my whole life in basketball,” James said. “Either seen me or heard about it, who is this kid from 40 minutes south of here playing ball at age 9, 10, 11 , 12? Who is this LeBron kid? And they either drove down to see me or saw me when I came to Cleveland and played in AAU tournaments and seem me play in high school games in the Cleveland area, so they’ve seen me for almost 30 years, since I picked up a basketball.
“That’s the difference between this arena and every other arena in the world.”
In the Lakers’ previous game, they were defeated by the Washington Wizards with 127-119 being the final score. LeBron James finished with 38 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists while Russell Westbrook chipped in 22 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists to go along with.
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The Cavaliers are coming off a 113-109 win over the Detroit Pistons. Darius Garland recorded 24 points and 12 assists in this one while Evan Mobley finished with his 20th double-double of the season with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists.
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