James' late scoring spree leads Lakers' rout of Spurs

LeBron James scored 19 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday as the Los Angeles Lakers overcame a slow start shooting from the field and cruised to a 129-102 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

FILE PHOTO: Feb 1, 2020; Sacramento, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) dunks the ball during the first quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma scored 18 points each, and Kuzma added 12 rebounds as the Lakers won at home for the first time since the death of former Laker Kobe Bryant and eight others in a Jan. 26 helicopter crash.

DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points and Bryn Forbes added 13 for the Spurs, who lost on back-to-back nights in Staples Center after falling to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. The Spurs have dropped five of their past seven games.

With a 13-point lead through three quarters, the Lakers started the final period with a flourish, scoring 21 points over the opening 3 1/2 minutes. James hit five straight shots — all 3-pointers — during that stretch.

The Lakers opened the game by making just one of their first eight shots from the field in their first game since a victory at Sacramento on Saturday. However, they still managed to go 9 of 19 (47.4 percent) from the field in the first quarter to take a 21-19 lead.

The Lakers pushed their advantage to 51-41 by halftime, limiting the Spurs to 36.2 percent shooting while also holding a 30-17 rebounding advantage.

The Lakers finished with a 58-28 rebounding edge, and their 58.8 percent shooting night was helped by a 24-6 advantage in fast-break points. The Spurs shot 44 percent from the field in the game.

James, who was named Western Conference player of the month for January earlier on Tuesday, added nine assists. He was 6 of 9 from 3-point range. JaVale McGee scored 14 points while Dwight Howard had 12 points and 11 rebounds for Los Angeles.

Dejounte Murray scored 12 points while Lonnie Walker IV and Marco Belinelli had 11 each for the Spurs. LaMarcus Aldridge was held to seven points on 3-of-10 shooting after entering with an average of 19 points per game.

—Field Level Media

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source: reuters.com