Lakers surge to eighth in West as NBA playoffs loom
LeBron James fired for the LA Lakers against his former team Cleveland. (AP PHOTO)
The big names have stood up as the Los Angeles Lakers claimed their ninth win in 10 games to climb into eighth in the NBA Western Conference with four regular season games remaining.
D’Angelo Russell scored 28 points, LeBron James added 24 and Anthony Davis had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Lakers who beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 116-97 in Los Angeles on Saturday.
The Lakers improved to 45-33 with their fourth straight win. They still are in position to land in the play-in tournament, but finishing seventh or eighth means they would only need to win one game to earn a playoff spot.
“We’re very confident in our ballclub,” Davis said. “We laugh about like, oh, winning nine out of 10, you know, 10 out of 11, whatever. and we’re not gaining anywhere. That’s how good the West (conference) is.”
It is the first time since December 29 the Lakers have been eighth in the conference. But coach Darvin Ham isn’t focused on seeding, just on the Lakers having momentum going into the postseason.
“Just take care of us. Continue to look for ways to get better individually and collectively. Everything else will take of itself,” he said.
“We’ll fall exactly in the spot we’re supposed to fall, but the key is for us to be playing at a high level on both sides of the ball.’
Darius Garland scored 26 points for Cleveland and Caris LeVert had 21 off the bench. The Cavaliers (46-32) remained in third place in the East but have dropped two straight and three of their last four.
James improved to 18-4 against his former team, where he played for 11 seasons in two different stints. He had a pair of alley-oop dunks against the team he led to its lone NBA title in 2016.
“Once we defend we get stops and hold teams to one shot, what we do offensively is through the roof. It’s hard to contain us,” Ham said.
In other action, Jamal Murray returned to Denver’s lineup after missing seven games with a strained right knee and scored 16 points over 21 minutes in a 142-110 clobbering of Atlanta.
Nikola Jokic recorded his 25th triple-double of the season and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added a season-high 24 points, propelling the Nuggets (54-24) into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves, who visit Denver on Wednesday night.
The showdown between the Wolves and Nuggets could decide the top seed in the West, although Oklahoma City is just a game back.
Joel Embiid had 30 points and 12 rebounds in just 23 minutes, Kelly Oubre Jr. added 17 points and Philadelphia pulled within a half-game of seventh place in the Eastern Conference by beating short-handed Memphis 116-96.
Scotty Pippen Jr. led the Grizzlies with 24 points.
Australian Associated Press
