CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The cross next to the words “Status Report” on the Lakers’ pregame notes indicates an injury report is below.
On Friday, when that cross landed in email inboxes seven hours before tipoff against the Charlotte Hornets, it could have also meant that the Lakers probably didn’t have a prayer.
Four members of their starting lineup — LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and Avery Bradley — were listed as “questionable.” Malik Monk was “out.” And the Lakers, at least unofficially, were in “trouble.”
“These games,” coach Frank Vogel said before the game, “can be some of the most fun of the year.”
Forty-eight minutes of fait accompli seemed like a lock, especially as the Lakers fell behind by as many as 20 points early in the third quarter.
But led by Westbrook, who was able to play despite his sore knee, the Lakers fought back, even tying the score before eventually falling, 117-114.
Despite scoring a season-high 35 points, Westbrook missed what would have been a go-ahead 3-pointer with two-tenths of a second left. The Hornets closed the game by splitting a pair of free throws.
Westbrook, especially in the second half, looked like the player the Lakers thought they were getting when they traded for him in the offseason. He attacked the Hornets dribble after dribble, forcing Charlotte to stop him around the basket and at the rim. And when the Hornets got in his way, he found open teammates, the Lakers playing with the kind of ball movement Vogel practically begged for after their loss at Philadelphia on Thursday night.
Undoubtedly, Westbrook’s role was much easier to define Friday because everyone had to adjust to him — and it wasn’t him adjusting to James and Davis.
James missed his second straight game because of soreness in his left knee, the Lakers’ medical staff hopeful that the swelling in the joint can be dealt with quickly enough. He’s day to day.
Davis, already being considered for a night off in the Lakers’ third game since his return from his own knee injury, also had a sore right wrist, so the team decided to be cautious.
Bradley, who had a stomach illness, also played and struggled in 20 minutes, going two for 10.
Silver linings that seemed as if they would be nonexistent in the early going, when the Lakers quickly trailed big while missing 10 of their first 11 shots, emerged throughout the game. Whether it was seldom-used veterans stepping in and embodying the “next man up” mantra or rookie Austin Reaves, one of the brightest spots this season, making the most of a bigger offensive opportunity, the Lakers fell just short in a game that seemed would be a runaway loss.
Kent Bazemore, who started the first 13 games of the season but was averaging just 4.4 minutes this month, scored a season-high 13 points, carrying the team through a rough first half. And Reaves added 16 and seven rebounds.
Miles Bridges was one of four Hornets with at least 20 points, leading Charlotte with 26. Ish Smith’s 22 points off the Charlotte bench on 10-for-12 shooting were critical.
The Lakers finish their longest trip of the season Sunday in Atlanta, needing a victory to go .500 over the six games.
