James Scores 56 Points, Lakers Beat Warriors To End Skid
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James scored a season-high 56 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 124-116 on Saturday night to snap a four-game losing streak.
James had his third-most points in a regular season game, finishing with at least 50 for the 13th time. He had a career-best 61 for Miami against Charlotte in 2014.
James was 19 of 31 from the field, shaking off a blow to his right elbow in the first half. Russell Westbrook added 20 points, and Carmelo Anthony had 14.
Stephen Curry had 30 for Golden State, and Jordan Poole added 23. The Warriors have lost four straight to drop to third overall in the NBA, a half-game behind Memphis and 8 1/2 games behind Phoenix.
Anthony completed a three-point play to give the Lakers a 114-112 lead with 3:29 to play, and Malik Monk hit a 3 to extend that lead to five after Austin Reeves stole Curry's pass. James then threw down a thunderous alley-oop from Monk, who stole the inbound pass after a Los Angeles turnover.
Curry cut it to 119-116 with 1:06 left, but Reeves grabbed the offensive rebound and Anthony hit a corner 3, allowing the Lakers to see it out.
James reached 40 points in the third quarter before putting the Lakers up 100-97 with 7:51 remaining in the game after knocking down three straight 3-pointers.
Golden State ran over Los Angeles with 42 points in the second quarter to take a 67-62 halftime lead. Poole and Kuminga each had eight points, Curry added seven, and the Warriors made 69.6% of their shots from the field (16 of 23) and 75% from 3-point range (6 of 8).
James, who got 26 points in the half, was the reason the Lakers were able to hang around. It was his 24th straight game with at least 25 points to extend the longest streak of James' illustrious career.
TIP-INS
Kuminga finished with 18 points. … Lakers G Avery Bradley returned after missing five games because of a right knee injury. He did not score in 16 minutes … Lakers G Talen Horton Tucker had two points in 18 minutes after not playing against the Clippers on Thursday because of a sprained left ankle. … Super Bowl-winning QB Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams watched the game from courtside seats with his wife, while longtime Lakers coach Phil Jackson took it in from a suite.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At Denver on Monday night.
Lakers: At San Antonio on Monday night.
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