The Los Angeles Lakers will make the final stop of a five-game road trip when they visit the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.
It’s a chance for the Lakers to have a winning trip and build on what have been rare feel-good moments this season.
Lakers forward LeBron James had a season-high 47 points Friday night at Atlanta, where the star player celebrated his 38th birthday as Los Angeles won for just the second time in a seven-game span.
While that might have been a situation where the superstar was motivated to demonstrate that age won’t slow him down, James said he generally keeps to a similar approach.
The Lakers might not expect 40-plus from James on a nightly basis, but they’re not surprised when he ups his production. He has led the team in scoring in each of the past six games.
Los Angeles is 2-2 on its trek. Before leaving for this trip, the Lakers’ final home game was a 134-130 loss to the Hornets despite 34 points from James.
Charlotte’s P.J. Washington had a team-high 24 points in the first meeting with the Lakers. In the four games since then, point guard LaMelo Ball has been the Hornets’ leading scorer.
Ball has scored 20 or more points in 11 consecutive outings. He finally seems to be in a groove following an injury-interrupted early stretch, though Charlotte is 4-9 in games he has played.
But when shots aren’t falling for the Hornets, that’s when trouble tends to spread.
The Hornets have lost six of their last seven home games. The most recent setback came against a couple of the NBA’s other top stars, when Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant combined to pin a 123-106 loss on Charlotte on Saturday night.
Brooklyn’s 60 percent shooting from the field marked the highest rate for any Charlotte opponent this season.
The Lakers are 3-7 in their last 10 road games. James has scored at a higher clip away from home this season, racking up 29.7 points per game in 16 outings. Overall, he averages 28.5 points per game.
He has been going at a stronger pace recently, posting 31.2 points per game across 14 December games.
