NEW YORK — After Friday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers to end their season-best five-game winning streak, the Lakers were in need of a “get-right game” ahead of a back-to-back to close out this six-game trip.
Sunday night became that, with LeBron James scoring a season-high-tying 40 points, including 17 in the fourth, to lead the Lakers to a 116-104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center.
The Lakers (42-33) dominated the early parts of the game, including holding the Nets scoreless in the first half of the opening quarter, leading to an early Lakers’ 17-0 lead, a 31-7 advantage later in the quarter and eventually a 72-46 lead early in the third.
But Cam Thomas (30 points and six assists) made sure the Nets didn’t go down quietly, leading a 9-2 Nets run that trimmed Brooklyn’s deficit to 90-79 going into the fourth. Thomas opened the fourth with a 3-pointer to cut the Lakers’ lead to 90-82.
From there, James took over.
There were the back-to-back 3s from James that gave the Lakers a 96-82 lead with 10:50 remaining.
James continued to put pressure on the Nets’ defense, scoring five points over the next three minutes before hitting his third and fourth 3s of the game, including a fadeaway from the corner, to give the Lakers a 111-93 lead with 6:21 left.
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James went 9-for-10 on 3s against the Nets, matching a career-high that he set when he made nine 3s against the Clippers last season on Jan. 24, 2023.
Anthony Davis added 24 points (9-for-12 shooting) and 14 rebounds. Rui Hachimura had a 20 point-10 rebound double-double. D’Angelo Russell finished with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists while Austin Reaves had 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
The Lakers’ starters scored all but two points of the team’s scoring total.
Gabe Vincent, who made his return to the floor after missing the previous 46 games following a Dec. 27 knee surgery, was the lone bench player to score, finishing with two points.
The Lakers close out their road trip with matchups against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday and Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
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