Lakers Highlights: Cam Thomas, Brooklyn Nets Hammer LA At Home
After submitting one of their strongest first quarters of the season, your Los Angeles Lakers fell apart at home the rest of the way against the visiting Brooklyn Nets, ultimately falling big, 130-112.
The loss drops LA below a .500 record yet again, to 21-22 on the year.
The 17-24 Nets, by the way, came into tonight's matchup having gone just 1-9 across their last ten contests. All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis flashed their lethal two-man game early, and the 39-year-old James reminded a receptive Crypto.com Arena crowd that he is somehow more athletic than at least half the league:
LA got off to a sparkling start, pacing Brooklyn 37-28 in the first quarter, one 15-of-23 shooting from the floor (an insane 65.2%). D'Angelo Russell continued his hot play of late, pouring in a team-most 13 points and three dimes during that period.
He would score seven points in the game's next three quarters.
After some sloppy closeouts helped Brooklyn nail some wide-open treys late in the second quarter, the Lakers closed the opening half leading by two possessions, 68-62.
The Lakers' defense completely died in the second half, and Brooklyn started connecting on its jumpers. The Nets blew out Los Angeles 68-44 in those final two quarters.
Reserve combo guard Cam Thomas was the high scorer of the night, notching 33 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field (4-of-7 from long range) and 3-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe. He also notched four dimes, three rebounds and a steal, while logging a +12 plus-minus. Note how wide open he was here, already late into the game and scorching on offense. It's an indictment of the Lakers' defensive scheming:
Rim-rolling starting center Nic Claxton logged a 22-point, 14-rebound double-double. The Lakers' size offered shockingly little interior resistance against the active 6'10" big, who showed off his significant foot speed advantage against his Purple and Gold counterparts down the stretch:
The Nets shot 52.6% from the floor (they had shot just 42% from the field across their previous 10), made 19 triples on 40.4% shooting (as opposed to their 11.5 made three-pointers on 30% shooting in the last ten), and scored 130 total points, a marked uptick from their 107.1-point average in the past ten bouts.
Brooklyn scored 59 bench points, led by Thomas, ex-Lakers shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV (15 points in 13:21), and point guard Dennis Smith Jr. (11 points).
With Austin Reaves getting absolutely roasted covering Thomas, multifaceted forward Jarred Vanderbilt was switched onto Thomas often, although it made little difference. On the other end, the 6'8" Kentucky product scored a season-most 12 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field (including 2-of-2 from deep).
James finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, Davis with 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting, 12 rebounds, six dimes, three steals and two blocks. D-Lo had 20 on 7-of-14 shooting (3-of-5) from deep, plus seven assists... and a team-worst -16. Just four Lakers scored in double figures, compared to seven Nets.
One glaring issue on the offensive side was LA's player shot distribution. Davis, now clearly the Lakers' best player, took the third-most field goal attempts on the team (13), behind James' 22 and Russell's 14. While Claxton might have Davis on foot speed inside, Davis has him on strength. He deserves to be a bigger focus of Darvin Ham's game plan moving forward. He makes 74% of his buckets at the rim (defined as shots taken within three feet). Let the man cook.
During the second half, the Lakers connected on a brutal 8-of-24 shooting in the post. Brooklyn went 16-of-24 from the same distance during the same period.
LA has gone a paltry 4-5 in the month of January. It will have its next chance to beat a sub-.500 opponent in its very next game, against the 12-29 Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
