When the Los Angeles Lakers announced that LeBron James and Anthony Davis would miss Friday’s nationally televised matchup with the Charlotte Hornets due to their respective knee and wrist injuries, few expected the team to have much of a chance at keeping things close. But while L.A. came up short in the end, they showed an honestly unexpected level of fight in Charlotte, narrowly falling 117-114 to the Hornets after a second half surge from Russell Westbrook allowed the team to fight to the end.
The Lakers went down 18-5 to start the game as their starting lineup of DeAndre Jordan, Stanley Johnson, Avery Bradley, Wayne Ellington and Westbrook looked predictably lifeless, but reserves Kent Bazemore, Talen Horton-Tucker, Austin Reaves, Carmelo Anthony and Trevor Ariza helped the team rally back to within two points in the second quarter before the starters got blown off the floor again to enter halftime down 65-49.