CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — D’Angelo Russell scored 28 points, Anthony Davis had 26 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists for his third career triple-double and the Los Angeles Lakers held on to defeat the short-handed Charlotte Hornets 124-118 on Monday night for their third straight win.
LeBron James added 26 points for the Lakers (27-25), who finished 4-2 on their road trip to build some much needed momentum before the upcoming All-Star break.
Miles Bridges erupted for a career-high 41 points and rookie Brandon Miller scored 33 points with five 3-pointers for the Hornets, who suffered their eighth straight loss since trading Terry Rozier to Miami.
The Lakers shot 64% from the floor in the first half and built a 74-58 lead heading into the locker room behind 22 points from Russell and 17 from James.
James had several highlight reel moment in the opening half, driving past P.J. Washington and dunking over 7-foot center Nick Richards for a three-point play. James had another baseline drive for a high-flying two-handed jam and also fed Anthony Davis for an alley-oop dunk.
The Lakers had 36 assists.
Los Angeles extended its lead to 21 points late in the third quarter as Christian Wood knocked down a 3 and then dunked off a pass from Austin Reaves.
But the Hornets would make it a game behind Miller, who had 16 points in the fourth quarter. The No. 2 pick in the draft intercepted a Reaves pass and went the length of the court for a dunk and then added back-to-back 3s to cut the Lakers lead to four with about two minutes remaining.
Charlotte had a chance to make it a one-possession game, but Davis tipped Bridges’ step-back 3-point attempt and Reaves made two free throws to push the lead to six and seal the win.
Bridges finished 16 of 26 from the field with five 3s.
UP NEXT
Lakers: Host the Nuggets on Thursday night.
Hornets: Host the Raptors on Wednesday night, their third home game in four nights.
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