The NBA regular season continued, and the Lakers ushered in the fifth leg of the six consecutive away games, heading to the road to challenge the Hornets.
Due to back-to-back combat, Thick Brow and James both missed the game, the former because of the sore right wrist, the latter because of the sore left knee (effusion).
In addition, Munch was absent due to sore left groin, Nunn continued to be absent due to a bruise on his left kneecap, and Westbrook led the remnants to meet the Hornets.
Despite the Lakers' brutal appearance, the two teams were still inseparable, and they did not win or lose until the last moment of the game.
Lacking a number of core players, Vogel was ingenious and arranged a starting lineup of Westbrook, Bradley, Ellington, Stanley and Jordan Jr.
This set of old, slow, and offensive starters was naturally led by the Hornets, and the point difference was quickly pulled to double digits.
Fortunately, the Lakers role players are powerful enough, plus the Hornets are indeed a less defensive team, and as the Lakers role players increase the intensity of the competition, the point difference was once reduced to 2 points.
Unfortunately, the Lakers' rotation of personnel is not enough, and as the starters return, the point difference is pulled apart again, and by the end of the half, it is already behind by as many as 16 points.
Yi bian fought again, Wei Shao suddenly broke out, helping the Lakers to equalize the score in the third quarter, but the Hornets stabilized the position again, coupled with the lakers' defensive quality is worrying, the team has been holding a double-digit point difference, until the critical moment, Wei Shao even scored two three-pointers, chasing the point difference to only 2 points, helplessly in the end, Wei Shao's kill three points were biased, and the Lakers regretted losing to the Hornets 114-117.
Although the Lakers ultimately missed a 20-point comeback, Westbrook's performance was remarkable and he found himself again in the second half.
With only 5 points in the first half, Westbrook went on a rampage in the second half, one-man blasted 30 points, making Westbrook the first player to hand over at least 30 points at halftime after Kobe Bryant retired.
Unfortunately, the rest of the starters performed in a mess, scoring only 22 points in the whole game, which was not as much as the 35 points scored by Westbrook alone, in addition, the Lakers bench players scored 34 points in the first half, which also set a new high this season.
Throughout the game, Westbrook played 37 and a half points, shooting 12-of-23 and 3-of-7 from three-point range, scoring a game-high 35 points, plus 4 rebounds and 5 assists, and only 1 turnover.
It can also be seen from the game that after obtaining a large number of ball rights, Wei Shao has finally returned to his former self, and he needs a big package of playing styles.
In addition, the outbreak of Wei Shao in the second half was actually his own trick, and finally he was no longer entangled in the competition for rebounds in the backcourt, but as far as possible to convert the attack as fast as possible.
After the game, Wei Shao also revealed his heart in the interview, saying bluntly that when the team needs itself, he can still do those things, unfortunately the team did not win the game.
Westbrook's performance also conquered opponents, and Bridges bluntly said that Westbrook was the reason why the team had so hard to win the game, and it is difficult to imagine that there will be so many people.
Bridges followed up and said that Westbrook had won the MVP, reached the finals, was a very good player, and he really didn't understand why so many people hacked him, and his performance was excellent.
Lakers coach Vogel also told the truth, saying that Westbrook's performance in the second half was amazing, and he thanked him for the leadership he brought to the team, and his performance gave the team the opportunity to steal a victory on the road.
The magician first wrote on social media: "Wei Shao played the best performance of the Lakers' career. 35 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds, only 1 turnover in the whole game. ”
This game actually gave the Lakers a certain hope, let Wei Shao take the second team, get more ball rights, and persuade Wei Shao to no longer obsess about rebounding in the backcourt, but to complete the conversion offense as much as possible.