CHARLOTTE, N.C. — To Lakers coach JJ Redick, Monday night’s road game against the Charlotte Hornets was about more than the result.
It was an opportunity for his team to get back to “playing Lakers basketball” after he found himself coaching an unrecognizable team in their first blowout loss of the season against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.
And the Lakers, boosted by the return of star guard Austin Reaves, looked more like themselves on Monday after a slow start, beating the Hornets, 121-111, at Spectrum Center.
There was Luka Doncic (38 points, seven assists, six rebounds) raining in stepback 3-pointers against a variety of Hornets players.
There was Reaves (24 points, seven assists, five rebounds and a pair of steals), who was back after sitting out three games because of a groin injury, getting into the paint and to the free-throw line at ease.
Rui Hachimura (21 points, 3 for 3 from 3-point range) was back to being uber efficient offensively. His three 3-pointers during the pivotal third quarter, when the Lakers outscored the Hornets 31-15 to take control. He then made a pair of midrange shots late in the game to help stave off the Charlotte’s comeback attempt.
And Marcus Smart was back to mucking up the game defensively, finishing with a season-high seven steals, which was one short of his career-best. Smart added 13 points, six assists and four rebounds.
But even on a night when the Lakers resembled the team they played like during the first nine games of the season, there was something out of the ordinary: an emphatic dunk and yell from Doncic after he gave them an 89-72 lead by driving down the lane and hanging on the rim after a two-handed dunk in traffic.
The Lakers improved to 8-3 for the season and 1-1 on the five-game trip that will continue against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.
Miles Bridges had 34 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead the Hornets (3-7), who continued to struggle without their top two scorers in LaMelo Ball (Chino Hills High) and Brandon Miller.
Kon Knueppel, the No. 4 pick in June’s draft, finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for a near triple-double.
The Hornets jumped out to a 40-36 lead entering the second quarter, taking advantage of a Lakers defense that consistently gave up drives into the paint and open 3-point shots.
The Lakers tightened up defensively in the second quarter and held a 65-63 halftime lead after Reaves beat the halftime buzzer with a layup. They led by as many as 18 points in the fourth, but the Hornets cut their deficit to six (117-111) after a Bridges’ 3-pointer with 44 seconds left.
Doncic – who eclipsed 30 points for the 20th time in his 35 games as a Laker – sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with 7.7 seconds left.
More to come on this story.
