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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — D’Angelo Russell scored 28 points, Anthony Davis had 26 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists for his third career triple-double and the Los Angeles Lakers held on to defeat the short-handed Charlotte Hornets 124-118 on Monday night for their third straight win.

LeBron James added 26 points for the Lakers (27-25), who finished 4-2 on their road trip to build some much-needed momentum before the upcoming All-Star break.

Miles Bridges erupted for a career-high 41 points and rookie Brandon Miller scored 33 points with five 3-pointers for the Hornets, who suffered their eighth straight loss since trading Terry Rozier to Miami.

The Lakers shot 64% from the floor in the first half and built a 74-58 lead heading into the locker room behind 22 points from Russell and 17 from James.

James had several highlight reel moment in the opening half, driving past P.J. Washington and dunking over 7-foot center Nick Richards for a three-point play. James had another baseline drive for a high-flying two-handed jam and also fed Anthony Davis for an alley-oop dunk.

The Lakers had 36 assists.

Los Angeles extended its lead to 21 points late in the third quarter as Christian Wood knocked down a 3 and then dunked off a pass from Austin Reaves.

But the Hornets would make it a game behind Miller, who had 16 points in the fourth quarter. The No. 2 pick in the draft intercepted a Reaves pass and went the length of the court for a dunk, and then added back-to-back 3s to cut the Lakers lead to four with about two minutes remaining.

Charlotte had a chance to make it a one-possession game, but Davis tipped Bridges' step-back 3-point attempt and Reaves made two free throws to push the lead to six and seal the win.

Bridges finished 16 of 26 from the field with five 3s.

By AP

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After consultation with multiple specialists, Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt has been diagnosed with a right mid-foot sprain. He will be re-evaluated by team doctors in approximately 3–4 weeks.

As his injury rehab continues, Gabe Vincent looks set to reportedly return to the Lakers within the next month.

Despite coming into the season as the Lakers’ marquee free agent signing, Gabe Vincent has assumed the role of afterthought through no fault of his own this season. A knee injury has effectively cost him the entire season and, over the last month-plus, he’s been rehabbing from surgery on his left knee.

Since that surgery, he’s largely disappeared, but his rehab has continued and Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports provided an update on where things stand.

Lakers guard Gabe Vincent, who’s become included in Los Angeles’ outgoing trade conversations, sources said, appears on track to return by early March. Vincent underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee during the final days of December. He was given an 8-10 week recovery period and has so far been recuperating on schedule, sources said.

It’s a bit interesting that Fischer reports it as an 8-10 week recovery timeline when the initial reports had it at 6-8 weeks. There probably isn’t anything to it other than a miscommunication or an initial timeline being stretched out a little bit. It’s not really that notable, just an interesting difference.

What we know for certain is Vincent underwent surgery on Dec. 27. Eight weeks from that date is Feb. 21. Any wiggle room on either side of that date would be between the end of the month and early March, as reported.

Effectively, this report more or less confirms Vincent’s rehab is still on schedule. This also puts him on roughly the same return timetable as Jarred Vanderbilt, who will be re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks.

If Vando returns to the court at that time, the Lakers could welcome both back for the final push of the season.

Will there be a season to bolster for the Lakers at that point? Now that’s an entirely different question.

By Jacob Rude

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Reports continue to trend in one direction when it comes to Jarred Vanderbilt’s foot injury, and they aren’t in a good way for the Lakers.

As more and more reports continue to come out about Jarred Vanderbilt’s injury, the news getting more and more grim for the Lakers. After suffering an injury during the first half of Thursday’s game against the Celtics, Vando’s injury is certainly a serious one and one that appears increasingly likely to cost him his season.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Brad Turner of LA Times reported as much prior to Saturday’s game against the Knicks and after the contest, Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported the “expectation” for the Lakers is that Vando is out for the year.

Vanderbilt’s absence is indeed no laughing matter. There is still no official timetable for the sixth-year forward, though the current expectation is that he will likely miss the rest of the season, according to team sources not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The Lakers are still evaluating Vanderbilt’s foot and are expected to announce a firmer plan soon.

It goes without saying how big of a blow this would be for the Lakers. Replacing him entirely is impossible because of his uniqueness as a player. He’s integral to the Lakers’ playing at their best and, without him, there is a big hole in their rotation they’ll have to replace.

The frustrating aspect for the Lakers is that Vando was rounding into form and getting back to his best over recent weeks, and was making an increasingly bigger case to move back into the starting lineup.

Now, the Lakers will have to look internally and externally for ways to fill the hole in the rotation. Whether they try to give more minutes to the likes of Rui Hachimura and Max Christie, for example, or acquire players like Bruce Brown or Dorian Finney-Smith, the solution won’t be a perfect one.

It’s going to be a big blow to this team no matter what solution they find. And it’s likely the end of a frustrating season for Vanderbilt. Just a bummer all around.

By Jacob Rude

NEW YORK — LeBron James scored 24 points and the Los Angeles Lakers pulled away down the stretch to beat New York 113-105 Saturday night, snapping the Knicks' nine-game winning streak.

Austin Reaves had 22 points, D'Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince each scored 16, and Anthony Davis finished with 12 points and 18 rebounds as the Lakers won their second straight to move above .500 (26-25).

“We're just trying to get to a place where we’re trying to get to a place where we’re playing the type of basketball we envisioned,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “The type of basketball we know we’re capable of and defend at a high, high level. That’s (going to) give you a chance every night. And we’ve got enough firepower in terms of people in the starting lineup, people coming off the bench to where we’re (going to) be able to put points on the board.”

Jalen Brunson scored 36 points to lead New York (32-18), and Donte DiVincenzo had 26 before fouling out. Josh Hart had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Precious Achiuwa added 10 points.

“We didn't make enough plays on both sides of the ball,” Brunson said. “Give them credit.”

The game was tight throughout and the Knicks led 86-80 after three quarters, but the Lakers scored the first seven points of the fourth to go ahead. It went back-and-forth, with New York taking its last lead at 96-94 on DiVencenzo's 3-pointer with 7:25 remaining.

“The start of the fourth, we’re up six,” Thibodeau said. “There was a big turnover, we gave up a 3 in transition. They got momentum, and it turned the game right there.”

Prince's three-point play 19 seconds later started Los Angeles' game-clinching 11-0 run, capped by James' fadeaway jumper for a 105-96 lead with with 1:54 left.

Prince and Reaves combined to score 16 of Los Angeles' first 20 points of the fourth quarter.

“That's what we need,” Ham said of Prince and Reaves' fourth quarter outburst. “We have a team full of talented offensive players. The more they assert themselves and stay aggressive, and...deliver; take advantage of the opportunities that they have, the better it will be (and) the more endurance we'll have for LeBron and A.D.”

DiVincenzo’s pull-up jumper with 39.1 seconds left cut the deficit to 105-98. It also ended New York’s nearly seven-minute scoreless streak.

Reaves sandwiched four free throws around a layup by Brunson to push the Lakers’ lead to 109-100. After Brunson converted a three-point play with 11.2 seconds remaining to slice the lead to six, Davis knocked down four free throws around a layup by Brunson in the final seconds to close it out.

James, playing his 32nd career game at Madison Square Garden, was cheered when he came out for pregame warmups, and his two-handed dunk off of a Russell feed 3:12 into the game drew oohs and aahs.

“It’s the Mecca of basketball,” James said. “There’s been so many great players, great teams, great things that come through this building. So (I’m) just happy to be part of it.”

By AP

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NEW YORK -- Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt is expected to miss a minimum of several weeks with a right foot injury, and could be out even longer pending further evaluation, sources told ESPN on Friday.

Vanderbilt will undergo more extensive consultation in the coming days on his midfoot area to determine the full extent of the injury and whether a season-ending procedure could become necessary, sources said.

Vanderbilt suffered the injury late in the first half of L.A.'s 114-105 upset win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday. X-rays taken at the arena Thursday night were negative, according to the team, but Vanderbilt is continuing to seek medical opinions.

After missing the first 20 games of the season with bursitis in his left heel, Vanderbilt had started to return to form of late, flashing signs of being the impact player who was so crucial to L.A.'s run to the Western Conference finals last spring.

In the Lakers' past eight games, Vanderbilt averaged 10.5 points on 66% shooting, 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals. In his past six games, Vanderbilt averaged 11.3 points -- the highest points per game average over a six-game stretch in his six-year career, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.

Lakers backup center Jaxson Hayes called Vanderbilt the “heart and soul” of the team during an on-court interview with Spectrum SportsNet after the win over the Celtics.

With guard Gabe Vincent already missing while he recovers from a knee procedure, Vanderbilt's absence is a major blow to L.A.'s point-of-attack defense. Vanderbilt was often assigned to the opposing team's biggest offensive threat. Since arriving in L.A., his top-5 defensive half-court matchups are Brandon Ingram, Anthony Edwards, DeMar DeRozan, Devin Booker and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, per Second Spectrum tracking.

Vanderbilt, 24, signed a four-year, $48 million contract extension with the Lakers shortly before training camp opened in the fall.

BOSTON — Austin Reaves scored a season-high 32 points and hit a career-high seven 3-pointers to help a Los Angeles Lakers team missing LeBron James and Anthony Davis stun the Boston Celtics 114-105 on Thursday night.

James sat out because of a left ankle injury, and Davis was sidelined by an Achilles tendon issue and left hip spasms.

Reaves was 7 of 10 from beyond the arc. He also was fouled on one of the misses and made all three free throws. The Lakers hit 19 of 36 3-pointers, holding off the NBA-leading Celtics to end a two-game losing streak.

D’Angelo Russell added 16 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds for the Lakers. Jaxon Hayes had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Jayson Tatum scored 23 points for the Celtics, who had 15 turnovers. Boston has lost three of its last five at home since starting the season 20-0 in TD Garden.

Boston never got closer than seven points in the fourth quarter.

Lakers big man Jarred Vanderbilt had 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals in 16 minutes. But he limped off the floor in the final minute of the first half as he tried to turn up court following a strip of Tatum. He sat out the rest of the game with what the team said was right foot soreness.

Much of the anticipation for the nationally televised meeting between the longtime rivals was tempered hours before tip off after James and Davis were ruled out.

It didn’t stop the young Lakers lineup of Russell, Reaves, Taurean Prince. Vanderbilt and Hayes from taking an early 11-point lead, powered by an 11-point first quarter by Reaves. The young Lakers crew made 13 first-half 3s, helping them take a 60-46 lead.

The Celtics came alive with a 12-2 run in the third quarter that included four straight 3s to cut it to 77-71. Tatum brought the crowd to its feet during the surge after he dove onto the floor to tie up Rui Hachimura to force a jump ball.

Thursday marked the first time this season, both James and Davis have sat out the same game for Los Angeles as it tries to improve its standing in a tight Western Conference playoff race. The Lakers began the day in ninth place.

Coach Darvin Ham said before the game that the injuries are things both players have dealt with throughout the season. It is unclear how long either will be sidelined. James has played 44 of 49 games this season. Davis has appeared in 46 games.

By AP

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