The star returned for the Lakers after missing the previous game with a non-COVID illness, but when LeBron James stepped onto the Crypto.com Arena court Friday night he had to play without three more of his trusty mates and had to incorporate a new face to help the cause.
James and the Lakers had to endure the loss of key role player Austin Reaves, who missed the game against the Atlanta Hawks with a left hamstring injury that will have him being re-evaluated in approximately two weeks, wing player Lonnie Walker IV, who was diagnosed with left knee tendonitis and will be re-evaluated in approximately two weeks, and Troy Brown, who was out because of a left quad strain.
Those injuries led to the Lakers signing guard Sterling Brown to a 10-day contact and it meant James, Russell Westbrook and the rest of the healthy Lakers’ crew had to push forward despite being undermanned. And not to be forgotten, Lakers guard Dennis Schroder had injured his right ankle during Wednesday night’s game, but he played against the Hawks.
In the face of all of this, the Lakers pulled out a 130-114 victory over the Hawks.
James, who had 47 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a win over Atlanta on his 38th birthday a week ago, led the charge again with 25 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.
He got plenty of help from his teammates, who played big roles in helping the Lakers overcome Trae Young’s 32 points for their fourth consecutive win.
Thomas Bryant had another double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Kendrick Nunn had a season-high 23 points, Russell Westbrook had 18 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists and Schroder had 21 points.
“It’s a long season and guys’ injuries are a big, real part of our story and our season and our sport,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said before the game. “So, Austin is out. Obviously, Lonnie is out. Troy is out…We signed Sterling to a 10-day, something I’m excited about to kind of help shore up things in their absence. But we’ll do like always do, we’ll figure it out.”
And the Lakers did, dropping 37 points on the Hawks in the first quarter, their highest scoring first frame of the season.
Then the Lakers went out and opened a 70-49 lead after the first two quarters, their largest half-time lead of the season.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.