The Lakers today won 124-116 against the Warriors.
James was very good today, playing 38 minutes, shooting 19-of-31, including 6-of-11 three-pointers and 12-of-13 from the free throw line, with 56 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists. In the first half, James played 18 minutes, shooting 10-of-15, scoring 26 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
At the end of the third quarter, James (37 years old and 65 days) has cut 40+, thus becoming the oldest player in the third quarter since Jordan (38 years and 315 days) in 2001.
James scored 56 points in the game, which not only set a new Record for a Lakers career scoring record (51 points), but also his personal highest since he scored 57 points on behalf of the Cavaliers against the Wizards in November 2017. Counting today's game, James has scored 50 points 13 times in his career.
In addition, only Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Crawford have scored 50+ in a single game since the age of 37 in NBA history, and James (37 years and 65 days) is the fourth player to cut 50+ after the age of 37.
Anthony, who is older than James and will be 38, also performed well today, playing 25 minutes, shooting 5-of-8 from the field and having 14 points and 8 rebounds. Westbrook played 32 minutes today, shooting 9-of-17 from the field with 20 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, and also made five turnovers.
On the Warriors side, Curry played 35 minutes, shooting 13-of-22, including 4-of-9 from three-point range, and cutting 30 points and 4 rebounds. Thompson was in poor form, playing 31 minutes, shooting 3-of-13 from the field and 1-of-5 from three-point range, with 7 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 4 turnovers. Jordan Poole did well, playing 32 minutes, shooting 9-of-15 from the field and having 23 points and five assists.
After losing to the Lakers today, the Warriors helped the Lakers end a 4-game losing streak, but they also suffered 4 consecutive losses. In the last 10 games, the Warriors have only won 2 wins and 8 losses, which is very bad. After four straight losses, the Warriors reached 43-21, overtaken by the Grizzlies (44-21) and dropped to third place in the West.
If the Warriors don't adjust to their form as soon as possible and find a way to win, their rankings are likely to continue to decline. As for the Lakers, after ending a four-game losing streak, their situation is still not good, temporarily retaining the ninth place in the West, but still trailing the Clippers by as many as 5 wins.