Against the former team of LeBron James, the Lakers failed to get the win on the road, falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 116-102. LeBron led all Lakers with 21 points and a season-high 17 rebounds, and Thomas Bryant had his best game of the season when he scored 17 from the bench and covered Anthony Davis, who suffered from flu-like symptoms early in the game and was ruled out.
For Cleveland, Jarrett Allen played well on his return to the lineup. He scored 24 points, 22 of them in the first half, and Donovan Mitchell exploded late to lead all scorers with 43.
Against the Cavs, Darvin Ham opted for the same starting five he played against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. Given that the Lakers haven’t fielded a five-man lineup in more than 47 minutes — bottoming out in that category for the second straight year — the consistency at the start could be seen as a breath of fresh air if this the case would be rewarded.
It wasn’t like that again in Cleveland as the Cavs came out of the gates on a 10-3 run. Midway through the quarter, Ham made an adjustment, adding Russell Westbrook, Austin Reaves and Troy Brown Jr. at the same time. That change worked, and the Lakers started with an 8-0 run of their own to cut the lead to three. At the 3:42 mark, Davis went to the locker room with flu-like symptoms and was later officially ruled out of the game. With AD gone, Bryant stepped up and scored five off the bench, and the Lakers were down by just a point after the first 12 minutes.
In the second quarter, Cleveland took advantage of the Lakers’ MVP’s absence, with Jarett Allen attacking the Los Angeles defense. In the first half, he went 10-11 from the field and led the Cavs by 22 points.
How did the Lakers react? With LeBron. The King has proven that he is still an effective player against his hometown team; He led all Lakers with six points in the quarter and helped the Lakers stay afloat. It wasn’t sustainable for the entire quarter, however, as the effect of the departure of two big men (Davis and Wenyen Gabriel) showed up as the Cavs retreated in the closing minutes of the quarter and the Lakers led 57-49 at half.
As the Lakers stared at their first loss of the road trip, they came out and took control to start the third. Bryant continued to attack the boards and grab buckets, Damian Jones finally got some playing time and did the little things to lengthen games, and Bron added ten points in the quarter to keep the offense moving. Cleveland struggled to score in the minutes without Donovan Mitchell, and Jarett Allen settled down and scored zero in the third. Despite the struggles, Cleveland was able to stay in control and maintained a two-point lead in the final quarter.
Without his co-star, could James do enough to grab another road win? Not quite. The Cavs went on an 8-0 run midway through the final frame, and despite a valiant effort from Bryant and Damian Jones, the lack of size and rim protection was evident and the scoreboard reflected that. Donovan Mitchell became a flamethrower from deep, ending a night he started slowly with 43 points. The final nail in the coffin came at the 8:32 mark when Cleveland went on a 21-8 run after the score was tied at 92. Mitchell hit a dagger three and Darvin Ham cleared the bank. That’s all she wrote.
The central theses
It was impressive that the Lakers lost the rebound fight by just an AD margin, but their constant turnovers frustrated that effort. The Lakers had 16 compared to Cleveland’s eight and with the margin for error on the road and without their star so svelte, it’s hard to overcome giving away so many possessions.
The Lakers won’t have to wait long to try and put this one behind as they take on the Raptors tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. PT in Toronto. AD’s status is obviously up in the air, but stick to Silver Screen and Roll for updates.
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