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The Los Angeles Lakers are back on track. After letting the Golden State Warriors steal a victory at Staples Center on Monday, the Lakers locked in the second half to seal a 113-106 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at the Fiserv Forum on Thursday.
The Lakers didn’t appear to be in sync as they walked out the gate. In fact, for most of the game they were fortunate enough to be in the lead, even if it was only a few points. But it wasn’t luck that won them the victory on Thursday; it was a pair of stellar performances from LeBron James and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
After a disappointing performance against the Warriors on Monday, James was fully on pace Thursday, scoring 32 points on 12 of 24 shots from the field and 6 of 10 shots from behind the arc. He completed his box score with 8 assists, 5 rebounds, a block and a steal while hitting both daggers late in the fourth quarter to put the Bucks on the sidelines. His +13 plus-minus was the highest of the night.
James’ production was especially valuable when he was on the floor with Wesley Matthews, Kyle Kuzma, Markieff Morris and Montrezl Harrell. Vogel has looked to this formation several times this season and it was only tonight that they found relative success, and that was because James was on fire. That being said, it is still not their best range, and the Lakers would be better off if these five didn’t see court together often.
Caldwell-Pope was also hot Thursday night, scoring a season-high 23 points while shooting a staggering 7-of-10 shot from behind the arc. For the season, Caldwell-Pope is shooting 56.8 percent from behind the arc, which is only second in the NBA ahead of Seth Curry. He’s on fire and it doesn’t look like he’s calming down anytime soon.
The Lakers tried to play this game down, but it’s clear both teams stood up for this one and, therefore, it was enjoyable. The Lakers will look to start a new winning streak when they head south to face the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast on itunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.
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