NBA: James scores 43 as Lakers avenge loss to Hornets

LOS ANGELES – LeBron James churned out another stellar performance with 43 points and 11 rebounds to carry the Los Angeles Lakers to a 121-115 National Basketball Association (NBA) road victory against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.

Thomas Bryant had 18 points and 15 rebounds, while Dennis Schroder and Austin Reaves both had 15 points to help the Lakers avenge a home loss from 10 nights earlier. Troy Brown Jr had 12 points on four three-pointers.

The night, however, belonged to Lakers star man James, with coach Darvin Ham saying it was “just another magnificent night” for the veteran forward, who had downed 47 points on his 38th birthday last Friday.

“I just think he is taking his time and really looking at what the defence is trying to do to him,” Ham added on ESPN. “There were times where he had to be a willing passer and he was just that. If he was going to attack them downhill, making his three-ball, getting out and running in transition.

“There was a variety of ways he is on the attack and again, they had a couple of possessions where they were trying to blitz him.

“But he’s finding the open man and making plays for other guys, and it forces the defence to play behind us.”

The Hornets trimmed a 24-point, second-half hole to 117-113 before James nailed two free throws with 16.6 seconds to play.

James shot 16-for-26 from the field despite missing all five of his three-point attempts. He was 11-for-15 on free throws.

The four-time NBA champion is now 484 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time leading points total of 38,387.

He has been carrying an extra heavy load for the Lakers since Anthony Davis has been sidelined with a foot injury. Russell Westbrook left the game with a sore left foot in the first quarter.

The Lakers (16-21) wrapped up a five-game road trip with a second straight victory after dropping two of the first three.

“We needed this on the end of a road trip,” said James. “We’re tired right now, but we stuck with it throughout the whole game and got a win.”

Terry Rozier scored 27 points, LaMelo Ball posted 24 points and Mason Plumlee supplied 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Hornets, who lost for the seventh time in their last eight home games. P.J. Washington added 12 points and Jalen McDaniels had 10 points.

“LeBron was great, obviously, the whole game... we tried to double-team him as much as we could but 19 fast-break points is going to be hard. That’s their strength. He was right in the middle,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said after the loss. REUTERS, AFP