Lakers player grades: LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony lead second-half surge vs. Magic
After an iffy first half, the Los Angeles Lakers got the job done against the Orlando Magic with an improved second half to win, 116-105.
Orlando led at halftime with Los Angeles struggling to find consistency, but the halftime talk must’ve given the Lakers the boost they needed to come out on top.
The Lakers opened the third quarter on a 21-4 run and swung the game by 20 points. L.A. trailed by 10 late in the second quarter only to lead by 10 in the second half.
Carmelo Anthony’s offensive burst came in handy in the third quarter, and the Lakers held on to beat the NBA’s worst team by record (Orlando is now 8-39). The Lakers also swept the season series, 2-0.
Here is how the Lakers, now 23-23, graded individually from the win:
Russell Westbrook: B-plus
Russell Westbrook responded well after getting benched against the Utah Jazz late in the fourth quarter. Though he had some egregious blunders, he assembled the type of performance L.A. needed from him, though it needs more polishing. He finished the game with 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting, 11 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Maybe this injects some confidence in him going forward.
Avery Bradley: B-minus
Avery Bradley got blown by at the point of attack by Orlando’s young guards, but he had a key stretch to start the third quarter that helped the Lakers’ comeback. He finished the game with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting overall with a 2-of-3 clip from 3-point range to go with four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 20 minutes.
Trevor Ariza: C
Trevor Ariza got the start again, but the start of the game did not go relatively well for him. He seems to have lost confidence in his shot and hoisted some contested ones, but his grade gets a bump because his defensive rotations were on point tonight. It was likely the reason he finished with a game-high plus-20 rating.
LeBron James: A-minus
LeBron James put up 29 points, seven rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block while shooting 12-of-23 from the field, but it still didn’t feel like a great game from The King. He was key in the first half when no other Laker could scrape momentum; Orlando likely leads by much more in the first half without LeBron. But his six turnovers and the eye test warrant nothing higher than an A-minus.
Dwight Howard: D-minus
Dwight Howard just couldn’t stay on the floor. He started at center to matchup with Mo Bamba, but he played only 13 minutes, registering five fouls and three turnovers in that span. Not the type of game you want against your former team.
Malik Monk: B-minus
Some of Malik Monk’s closeouts and defensive effort could’ve been better, but his 10 points provided a nice lift off the bench. His ability to slice the middle of Orlando’s defense came in handy during the second half. He added four rebounds, two assists and two steals on 4-of-9 shooting.
Austin Reaves is just a sound player. He got a solid grade without even making a shot. He made 5-of-6 free throws and the hustle is always appreciated.
Stanley Johnson played 22 minutes off the bench, but he needs to be out there more. He also played a big role in the second-half surge, making two 3-pointers. He finished with 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting overall (2-of-3 3P) to go with five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.
Talen Horton-Tucker: C-minus
Not too much to take away from Talen Horton-Tucker’s performance. His best moment came on a block off the backboard immediately followed with a drive to the rim for a layup past Franz Wagner. Those were his only points on the night on a 1-of-4 shooting game.
Carmelo Anthony: A
Carmelo Anthony played 17 minutes, the lowest of any reserve, but had the biggest impact in the scoring column. He trailed only LeBron in points, going for 23 on 8-of-13 shooting; he made 4-of-5 shots from downtown. His second-half buckets were instrumental in the win after a sluggish first half on both ends. He added three rebounds and a block.
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