D’Angelo Russell was feeling himself from deep, LeBron James was dishing and the Los Angeles Lakers earned a crucial 116-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon as the team continues to battle for a guaranteed playoff berth.
Russell finished with 28 points on 6-of-12 shooting from three in the win, James added 24 points, 12 assists and five rebounds and Anthony Davis chipped in with a double-double of his own (22 points, 13 boards) while putting on a defensive masterclass (six blocks, three steals).
NBA @NBA
AD LOBS IT UP TO LEBRON! 👀🔥
Cavs-Lakers | Live on the NBA App
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NBA @NBA
Anthony Davis DRILLS the 3-pointer to cap a 17-0 Lakers run!
3Q live on the NBA App.
📲 https://t.co/yO8z2tHMdt pic.twitter.com/KnLxcqdGUc
NBA @NBA
LeBron draws THREE defenders and still finds the cutting AD for the JAM! 😲
Cavs-Lakers | Live on the NBA App
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NBA @NBA
D’Angelo Russell is off to a red hot start 🔥
He’s up to 18 PTS and 4 3PM in the 1st half.
Cavs-Lakers | Live on the NBA App
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Darius Garland led the Cavaliers with 26 points.
The win moved the Lakers to 45-33 on the season and temporarily in the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, just a 1.5 games behind the Phoenix Suns for the much-desired sixth seed and guaranteed playoff berth. The Lakers are red hot, winners of nine of their past 10 games.
And social media was hype about the performance from the team’s top three players:
zaiire 💫 @_zaiire_
LAKERS WIN AND MOVE UP TO 8th SEED
DLO STILL HIM
LEBRON AND AD THE BEST DUO
LAKERS BANNER 18 ON THE WAY
LAKERS ARE BACK pic.twitter.com/gZxY3P9Xj8
Darius Soriano @forumbluegold
d-lo’s shooting, ad’s defense + rebounding, prince’s scoring off the bench, lebron being lebron…great, great win today for the lakers.
Lakers Lead @LakersLead
✅ #LAKERSWIN
✅ @CAVSLEAD LOSE
✅ OMG THIS STARTING LINEUP! 🔥
✅ PLAYOFF LEBRON AND AD READY
✅ D’LO LIGHT OUT 🎯
✅ TAUREAN PRINCE HEATER
✅ 12 GAMES OVER .500
✅ WON 9 OF 10 (21-8 SINCE 2/1)
✅ SOLE POSSESION OF 8th SEED
WHO’S READY FOR THE MOST IMPROBABLE FINALS RUN? 🔜 pic.twitter.com/pn4YkN7op0
B4B @b4bide
AD was the guy tonight. Man was everywhere. Austin did had a couple of hiccups on offense but made some very good plays and defense. D’lo and LeBron were great too. Great Win #Lakers
Kimberly🍩🌹 @KIMBERLYKAREN23
The Lakers need to give Anthony Davis the game ball tonight. I mean he was everywhere.
Defense & Offense
Harrison Faigen @hmfaigen
He has been AWESOME today so he’s earned a couple crazy shots
Tony Jones @Tjonesonthenba
It’s just ridiculous how good a regular season LeBron has had. Lock All-NBA is insane
As important as the win was for the Lakers, it was hugely detrimental for a Cavaliers team that is fighting for the 2-seed in the Eastern Conference. The loss dropped Cleveland to 46-32 and kept them at third in the East, 1.5 games behind the Milwaukee Bucks and just a half-game ahead of the Orlando Magic.
The Lakers catching fire at this point in the season—but potentially still have to deal with the Play-In Tournament—makes them a fascinating team to monitor ahead of the playoffs. This is the same team that reached the Western Conference Finals a season ago.
Never count out a team that includes James. And with AD putting together his best (and healthiest) regular season in recent memory and Russell coming on strong, the Lakers seem bound to shake things up in the West.
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