Lakers buzz past Hornets as Anthony Davis dominates

Anthony Davis stung the entire Hornets team with a dominant performance on Monday, leading to a win for the Lakers.

The Lakers rode a red-hot first quarter and an incredible Anthony Davis performance to victory on Monday, surviving a second-half rally to knock off the Hornets, 112-107.

AD had a dominant game, ending with 42 points and 23 rebounds, including 21 points and 11 rebounds in the first quarter alone. It was the fifth 40-20 game of his career.

LeBron James added eight assists and seven rebounds to go along with 22 points on a night he struggled from the field, going 1-8 from the arc. Austin Reaves pitched in with 17 points, six assists and two steals.

Max Christie went 3-6 from behind the arc and ended with 10 points and three assists. Dorian Finney-Smith had six points and five rebounds.

The defense was on full display with LA clamping up the Hornets multiple times early. Austin knocked down a 3-pointer after excellent team defense caused a turnover for Charlotte. LaMelo Ball turned the ball over, leading to a layup by LeBron. After AD converted on a layup that he was fouled on, Los Angeles was up 7-0 and Charlotte had to call a timeout.

The lead went to 16 after Max threw a lob to AD for the slam. The Hornets were forced to call another timeout. Charlotte was shooting 20% from the field and the Lakers were shooting 81%. All the starters for LA scored a bucket.

The Hornets started making more shots, but AD's dominant play took over the game. At the end of the first, the Lakers were up 20.

The second quarter began with a free throw by LeBron. LeBron also threw a lob to Jaxson Hayes for an emphatic dunk. LaMelo drained a 3-pointer, adding to the life the Hornets were starting to show. The Lakers had a few breakdowns defensively.

LaMelo ended up going to the locker room after spraining his ankle, which would rule him out for the rest of the game.

The Lakers called a timeout after a dunk by Miles Bridges that made the deficit 16. There was sloppy play by LA, letting the Hornets keep inching closer.

Jarred Vanderbilt and Dorian saw minutes together and were very active defensively. Austin knocked down his second 3-pointer of the game. Things shifted back in favor of Charlotte after two 3-pointers by Josh Green.

At halftime, the purple and gold were only up eight.

The second half began with Austin's missed shot. LeBron then made a layup after AD made a nice defensive stop on the other end. Josh made another 3-pointer for Charlotte.

After a miss from behind the arc by Austin, AD grabbed the offensive rebound and made a layup. LeBron followed with a much-needed 3-pointer.

Charlotte was very much in the game, scoring from behind the arc. The Hornets continued to cook from behind the arc, shooting 47% from range, making it a six-point game.

AD stopped some of Charlotte's momentum, converting on an and-1. At the first timeout, LA was only up by eight. The Hornets still struggled to defend AD, allowing him to continue to dominate throughout this quarter.

With the quarter winding down, LeBron bullied his way through plenty of defenders for a layup. He was fouled and completed the and-1. Austin turned the ball over as the clock turned zero.

At the end of the third, the Lakers were up by nine.

The final frame saw LA’s lead dwindle to two as Charlotte’s scoring run ballooned to 11-3. LeBron found Jaxson for a lob, which he was fouled on, and completed the three-point play. LeBron connected with Jaxson again for an alley-oop shortly after.

The sloppy turnovers took away good baskets the Lakers needed to increase their lead.

Vando made his defensive presence known by stealing the ball and dunking, adding to the lead which became eight. Austin converted on a floater to make it a 10-point lead, but Miles responded with a layup on the other end.

LA’s scoring run extended to 12-4. Max drilled a 3-pointer and was fouled, knocking down the free throw to complete the four-point play. The Hornets knocked down a shot and then stole the ball leading to a 3-pointer by Miles to make it an eight-point game.

AD picked up his 40th point on a midrange shot after he grabbed the offensive rebound. Charlotte played pesky ball, making it a six-point game with 1:18 left. Dorian faked a three then took the ball to the hole for a rim-shaking dunk.

AD fouled Green on a 3-pointer and he made all three free throws. LA’s sloppiness made this a dangerous final 10.6 seconds. AD was fouled and knocked down both free throws to seal the win.

Key Takeaways:

Los Angeles turned the ball over far too many times and, as usual, it contributed to the opposing team getting back into the game.

The bench scoring was rough, granted the team was without Gabe Vincent who had been providing nice production, but they still could’ve used more scoring.

The Lakers’ next game will be Tuesday against the Philadelphia 76ers at 4:30 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.