Lakers: LeBron James Explains Why the Team Struggled in the First Half on Friday Night

Friday night had all of the makings of another disappointing loss for the Lakers on Friday night. The team started very slow and got down early, looking like

Friday night had all of the makings of another disappointing loss for the Lakers on Friday night. The team started very slow and got down early, looking like the team that had shown no signs of life in a few of their previous games. 

The Magic put up 62 points in the first half and carried an 8-point lead over the Lakers heading into halftime. Quite literally the worst team in the league, Orlando appeared to be en route to a shocking win. Well, shocking to some at least.

But LeBron James had a little bit of an explanation for that sluggish start for the Lakers. With the team on their first game of a very long road trip, he thought they need some time to get going. 

“We felt like the first game on an East Coast trip is always the toughest game and that first half is usually when you’re trying to get the legs back coming off a long flight from L.A. yesterday. We knew we could play a lot better.”

It's sort of an odd excuse, especially given that it was their first game of the long trip. But it does carry at least a little bit of weight given how the Lakers were able to come out in the second half. 

They started the third quarter with a 19-2 run to take the lead back, and they never let it go. The Lakers put up 62 points in the second half and allowed the Magic to score just 43 points, including a very low 16 points in the third.

The Lakers got another productive game from Bron, who put up 29 points and shot over 50 percent from the field. Carmelo Anthony also had a big game of his own off of the bench, scoring 23 points and sinking 4 of his 5 three-point attempts. 

It was a good start to the long road trip, but the Lakers need to keep it going.