In one of the most impressive wins over the season, the Lakers dominated the Cavs on Tuesday, leading by as many as 27 points en route to a 127-113 win.
After Cleveland led for almost the entire first quarter, the Lakers took control in the second period and never looked back. A huge third quarter pushed LA ahead by 20 points and, despite a shaky start to the fourth quarter, never saw the lead dip back into single digits.
The win is the fourth straight for LA, its 13th in the last 14 games and 16th in the last 18. It also gives them 50 wins, matching last season’s win total.
While fans were immediately treated to a LeBron chasedown block to open the game, it was a slow start for the Lakers as Cleveland scored the first six points of the game until a pull-up midrange jumper from LeBron.
LA eventually played their way back into the game, tying it up on a nifty fastbreak dime from Luka to LeBron and forcing a Cleveland timeout. After the two teams traded baskets, James Harden and Keon Ellis helped the Cavs push their lead to seven at 26-19.
Luka and LeBron found their 3-point shots, which helped the Lakers keep pace with the Cavs, who knocked down a pair of long-range shots of their own to beat the shot clock buzzer. Luka’s second 3-pointer of the first gave him 14 points and pulled the Lakers within two at 34-32 to end the period.
Kennard opened the second period with a jumper that tied the game once again. Jake LaRavia brought the energy in the second period, creating extra possessions with his hustle and converting a pair of baskets at the rim, the latter a fastbreak dunk to put the hosts up 41-36 and force another Cavs timeout.
A foul on a 3-point attempt by Austin Reaves allowed the Lakers to open the lead to 46-39, extending the run to 17-5. While the lead was down to five points when Luka checked back into the game at the midway point of the quarter, Ayton immediately followed a miss of his with a dunk.
Luka then connected on his own deep-range effort before finding Ayton for a mid-range jumper, giving LA a 10-point lead. Out of a Lakers timeout, Rui scored five-straight points before a LaRavia poster extended the lead to 15.
An 18-point first half from Jarrett Allen was the only thing keeping Cleveland in the game. Luka, though, was keeping pace individually as a 3-pointer late in the second gave him 20 points.
At the half, the Lakers led 65-53.
Ayton converted on an and-one to start the second half to set a positive tone for the Lakers. The Lakers continued turning defense into offense, punctuated by a steal that led to a fastbreak alley-oop from Reaves to LeBron, pushing LA’s lead to a game-high 17 points.
The Lakers kept the pedal to the metal out of the timeout, using a Luka baseline fadeaway and then a steal in the backcourt and two LaRavia free throws to open the lead up to 20 points.
A 3-pointer from Luka gave him his 13th-straight 30-point game and made it a 21-point game. He then found Austin for a three on the next possession as the purple and gold kept piling it on.
Cleveland had little response for the Lakers as the margin stayed north of 20. Rui Hachimura really found his groove in the period to keep LA comfortably ahead and LaRavia’s corner three to close the period made it a 110-83 lead to go into the fourth.
The Cavs opened the fourth quarter by clearing the bench, then promptly cut the deficit to 18 points to force a Lakers timeout. Ayton got the first field goal of the fourth out of the break by putting back his own miss.
Austin slowed Cleveland’s push with a stepback 3-pointer to push the lead back to 19, but Tyrese Proctor immediately responded.
The unseriousness continued as a 24-second violation from the Lakers led to a dunk for the Cavs, trimming the lead down to 14 points. A block by Rui led to him getting a deep seal on the other end for an easy layup that stemmed the tide a bit.
A dunk from Jaxson Hayes off a pick and roll put LA up 18 points with 3:21 left before a pair of freebies and a 3-pointer from Luka gave him yet another 40-point game. He put the final touches on the win with a fastbreak dunk, which elicited a roar from the crowd.
Luka continued his incredible streak with 42 points to go with 12 assists and five rebounds. Austin struggled with his shot, but still finished with 19 points with six rebounds and four assists. LeBron had 14 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Ayton had a strong showing with 18 points and nine rebounds. LaRavia had 14 points on 5-5 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers to go along with seven rebounds. Hachimura tallied 14 points on 6-8 shooting off the bench.
The Lakers will next be in action on Thursday when they travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
