November ’23 Lakers Log

ORL 105 – LAL 108 W, 2-2, 10/30/23: The Lakers played their first back-to-back of the season, and won a nailbiter over the young Orlando Magic. Orlando coming in was two and zero on the young season. The Lakers had to fight back late once again, trailing at halftime for the fourth time in four games this season. The teams went back and forth in the 4th but three’s from LeBron and D’lo gave LA a 1 point lead. D’lo was fouled and knocked down 2 clutch free throws. With 8 seconds remaining, Franz Wagner airballed a three to tie the game but Jalen Suggs got the rebound. Suggs dribbled out pump faked, as Davis flew by, and missed a wide-open three, as the Lakers escaped with a narrow victory. D’lo had his best game of the season, finishing the night with a team-high 28 points. He also threw down a surprise dunk on Paolo Banchero. AD scored 26 and grabbed 19 boards, and LeBron scored 19, going just 3 minutes over his restriction.

LAC 125 – LAL 130, W OT, 3-2, 11/1/23: The Lakers opened November with a hard-fought win against the LA Clippers. The Clippers pulled off a blockbuster deal to acquire James Harden just yesterday, sending shock waves throughout the lead. The Lakers trailed by as much as 17 before taking over in the 4th. However, Paul George and the Clippers went on a run to send the game to OT. Austin Reaves had a huge overtime, including a steal on Kawhi Leonard, leading to an incredible alley-oop to LeBron James. Christian Wood sealed the game, throwing down a put-back slam. The Lakers, with a hard-fought effort, took the victory, snapping the eleven-game losing streak against the Clippers. LeBron finished the night with a season-high 35 points, along with 11 boards and 7 assists. Austin Reaves scored 15 points, scoring 7 in OT, along with 8 rebounds and 7 dimes. AD put up a double-double, with 27 points and 10 rebounds. D’lo scored 27 as well. Christian Wood had a double-double off the bench, scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 boards. The Lakers have a winning record for the first time this year.

LAL 101 – ORL 120, L 3-3, 11/4/23: The Lakers just didn’t have it against the Magic. LA fell behind by double figures in the 1st quarter and never rebounded. The Lakers were blown out, losing by 19, to begin their 4-game road trip. AD finished with 28 points and 13 rebounds. LeBron put up 24 points and Austin Reaves scored 20 in the loss. LA has lost all three games on the road this season and is now zero and three on the road.

Lakers struggle at the start, but finish the week strong, Week 3, 2023 NBA Season, 11/6-11/12/23

LAL 107 – MIA 108, L 3-4, 11/6/23: The Lakers, shorthanded once again, played an eight-man rotation and lost a heartbreaker to the Heat. Both teams were neck and neck all game but the Heat came out victorious. AD also left the game early, scoring just 9 points in 25 minutes, due to hip spasms and a groin issue. LeBron’s 30 points and Austin Reaves 23 points, 10 boards, and 9 dimes, a near triple-double, were not enough. The Lakers are now zero and four on the road this season.

LAL 94 – HOU 128, L 3-5, 11/8/23: LeBron and the Lakers suffered their worst loss of the season, getting blown out by 34 points. LA, shorthanded once again, was without Davis, Vanderbilt, Hayes, and Vincent. Rui Hachimura came back at put up 24 points in 26 minutes off the bench. Russell scored just 22 and LeBron finished with 18. The Lakers are on a three-game losing streak and have lost all five games on the road this season.

NBA In-Season Tournament Group Stage: LAL 122 – 119 PHX, W 4-5, (1-0) 11/10/23: The Lakers snapped their three-game losing streak, with an exciting win over the Phoenix Suns. AD returned after missing the last game due to hip spasms. The Lakers trailed for most of the game but rallied back. Cam Reddish and Taurean Prince played big roles in the win. In a starting role, Reddish finished the night with 17 points and Prince finished with 7. Austin Reaves came off the bench for the first time this season and looked more like himself, scoring 15. AD scored 18 and grabbed 11 boards. LeBron led the charge, scoring 32 points to go along with 11 boards and 6 dimes. The Lakers got their first road win of the season and are four and five on the year.

POR 110 – LAL 116, W 5-5, 11/12/23: LA evened up their record at five and five with a victory over the Trail Blazers. LeBron had the night off due to calf soreness but AD took over. AD put up another double-double, putting up 30 points and 13 boards. Six players scored in double figures for the Lakers. D’lo and Prince both scored 11, Rui who started in place of LeBron, scored 19, Reddish scored 18, and Reaves, who has been thriving in his bench role, scored 18. LA is undefeated at home this season, posting a five-nothing record at Crypto.com Arena.

LeBron and the Lakers improve to 8 and 6 winning 3 of the last 4, Week 4, 2023 NBA Season, 11/14-11/19/23

NBA In Season Tournament Group Stage: MEM 107 – LAL 134, W 6-5, (2-0) 11/14/23: The Lakers got back over .500 with a dominating win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Lakers came out the gate running and were shooting the ball incredibly well. LA ended up taking a 21-point lead into halftime, the first halftime lead LA has had this season, and never looked back. The Lakers ran the Grizzlies out of the building, and are now two and zero in the NBA’s In Season Tournament Group Stage. It was a team effort once again as seven Lakers scored in double figures. AD grabbed 11 boards while scoring 19, LeBron and Reaves scored 16, along with 12 rebounds, Jaxson Hayes scored 11 off the bench, Cam Reddish scored 10, Rui scored 23 off the bench, and D’lo led LA in scoring with 24. The Lakers are six and zero at home and will host the Kings tomorrow.

SAC 125 – LAL 110, L 6-6, 11/15/23: The Lakers lost their first home game of the season, with an underwhelming performance against the Sacramento Kings. LA fell behind by 13 after the 1st and couldn’t come back. LeBron did make history, moving to 5th in All-Time triple-doubles. James finished the night with 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. AD struggled mightily, scoring just 9 points and grabbing 9 boards. D’lo did score 28, but LA is now .500 yet again and six and six.

NBA In-Season Tournament Group Stage: LAL 107 – POR 95,  W 7-6, (3-0) 11/17/23: The Lakers improved to a three and-zero record in the NBA in-season tournament with another big game from LeBron. James finished the night with a game-high 35 points, along with 9 assists. AD put up another double-double, scoring 16 points with 14 rebounds. D’lo scored 14 and Prince and Wood each scored 10. The Lakers won by 12 over Portland.

HOU 104 – LAL 105, W 8-6, 11/19/23: LeBron James led the Lakers to a nail-biting win over the Rockets. LeBron scored 37 points along with 6 boards and 8 dimes. AD had 27 points and 12 boards and Reaves and Hachimura put up double figures off the bench. The Lakers are 8 and 6 on the year with the win over Houston.

LeBron continues to carry LA, improve to 10 and 7, Week 5, 2023 NBA Season, 11/21-11/25/23

NBA In-Season Tournament Group Stage: UTA 99 – LAL 131, W 9-6, (4-0) 11/21/23: The Lakers demolished the Jazz and are now four and zero in the in-season tournament. AD led the Lakers with 26 points and 16 rebounds. LeBron scored 17 and D’lo scored 20. The Lakers got great production off the bench. Reaves scored 19, Wood scored 16, Hachimura scored 12, Hayes scored 10, and Max Christie got some minutes due to Cam Reddish leaving the game due to injury. And scored 7. With the win, the Lakers have advanced to the quarterfinals of the in-season tournament, and are now riding a three-game win streak.

DAL 104 – LAL 101, L 9-7, 11/22/23: The Lakers made a furious comeback at the end but were unable to come up with the win over the Mavericks. The Lakers outscored the Mavs by 17 in the 4th quarter after trailing by 20 going into the 4th quarter. Austin Reaves made a layup to put the Lakers up 1, but Kyrie Irving hit a clutch three, ending the Lakers hopes that night. LeBron finished the night with 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists.  AD had an underwhelming performance, putting up just 10 points with 13 boards. It was later reported that there should’ve been a 3-second defensive violation on Richaun Holmes during which LeBron turned the ball over with 20 seconds to go. This miscall ended up costing LA the game.

LAL 121 – CLE 115, W 10-7, 11/25/23: LeBron didn’t disappoint in his return to Cleveland as the Lakers grind out their tenth win of the season. Although he struggled from the field, LeBron scored two huge buckets to put the game away late. The King finished with 22 points, 6 boards, and 6 dimes. AD led the way for the Lakers dropping 32 points and 13 rebounds. Austin Reaves registered a double-double off the bench, scoring 15 along with 10 assists. The Lakers were short-handed, losing Rui Hachimura for the rest of the road trip due to a nasal fracture, along with Vincent, Vanderbilt, and Reddish already on the shelf with injuries of their own. LA came out on top, 121 to 115.

Lakers continue win-loss pattern, Reddish and Vanderbilt return, Week 6, 2023 NBA Season, 11/27-12/2/23

LAL 94 – PHI 138, L 10-8, 11/27/23: The Lakers got destroyed by Joel Embiid and the 76ers, losing by 44 points. LA was outscored 40 to 14 in the 4th quarter. This was the worst loss of LeBron’s career. Joel Embiid had 31 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, giving him a triple-double despite playing just 3 quarters. Tyrese Maxey had it going, scoring 31. AD didn’t step up, scoring just 17 points and 11 rebounds. LeBron scored just 18 and wasn’t able to grab a single rebound. The Lakers will have to come into Detroit to end this losing skid.

LAL 133 – DET 107, W 11-8, 11/29/23: The Lakers got back on track with a dominant win over the Pistons. D’lo exploded for 35 points, going 5 for 7 from deep, along with 9 assists. AD put up another double-double with 28 points and 16 boards. LeBron added 25 of his own. Cam Reddish also returned after missing the past 3 games due to a groin injury. LA won its eleventh game of the season.

LAL 110 – OKC 133, L 11-9, 11/30/23: The Lakers went into the second game of their back-to-back very short-handed. Along with Vanderbilt, Vincent, and Hachimura all on the shelf, Reddish and Hayes were also ruled out. LA got destroyed in the 2nd quarter, as OKC outscored them 42 to 23. The Lakers never recovered, losing by 23. AD scored 31 and grabbed 14 rebounds. LeBron scored 21 with 12 boards. The Lakers finished their four-game road trip with a two and-two record. LA will have a day off before taking on the Houston Rockets at home.

HOU 97 – LAL 107, W 12-9, 12/2/23: LA continued their win-loss pattern with a blowout win over the Rockets. The Lakers received some great news coming in, as Jarred Vanderbilt was cleared to make his season debut, and Rui Hachimura was taken off the injured list. Cam Reddish also returned. The Lakers were almost a hundred percent healthy coming in. AD had the best performance of the night putting up 27 points and 14 boards. LeBron put up 16 including an incredible 360 layup. Reddish and Prince both scored 11. Reaves scored 18 off the bench and Max Christie, who is seeing more playing time, dropped 12. Rui ended up not playing and the Lakers won by 10.

Photo Credit: NBA.com