Lakers Drop Fifth Straight, Fall To Hornets Late
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kemba Walker scored 30 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:55 to play, and the Charlotte Hornets rallied late for a 109-104 victory over the struggling Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
Frank Kaminsky had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who won for just the third time in 16 games. Charlotte has won two of its last three games for the first time in nearly six weeks.
Julius Randle had 23 points, 18 rebounds and six assists for the Lakers (19-42), who have lost five straight and 16 of 20. They also clinched four consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1961, the franchise's first year on the West Coast.
After Jordan Clarkson put the Lakers ahead on a driving basket with 2:23 to play, Walker answered with his fifth 3-pointer of the night. Marvin Williams then hit his fourth 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down to put Charlotte up 103-98 with 1:08 left.
Walker ended up with 11 points in the fourth quarter as the Hornets hung on to improve to 2-3 on their seven-game road trip, their longest of the season.
D'Angelo Russell scored 15 of his 23 points in the first half, but he hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the final minute to make things interesting.
Clarkson added 16 points for the Lakers, while Nick Young scored all of his 15 on 3-pointers. Russell also hit five 3-pointers and added nine assists.
The Hornets have won their last five meetings with the Lakers. Charlotte coach Steve Clifford, an assistant coach on the Lakers' last winning team, earned his 150th victory, trailing only Allan Bristow and Paul Silas in franchise history.
TIP-INS:
Lakers: G David Nwaba played six minutes of the fourth quarter in his NBA debut, stepping in a few hours after getting a call-up from the Lakers' D-League affiliate. The graduate of nearby University High School earned his first NBA shot with strong defensive play, coach Luke Walton said. ... Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng didn't play for the Lakers. The free agents agreed to four-year contracts worth a combined $136 million last summer. ... Big man Thomas Robinson sat out with an apparent case of the flu.
