NBA 2018-19: 3 talking points as Los Angeles Lakers romp past Charlotte Hornets

The Los Angeles Lakers have started their East Coast road trip with a bang. They totally dominated their match against the Charlotte Hornets on the back of triple doubles from LeBron James and Lonzo Ball.

The Lakers played with great energy from the start. They got an early lead and never looked back, ultimately running out 128-100 winners.

The Lakers took a 10-point lead after the first quarter. The Hornets then closed in a bit in the second quarter, behind some good displays from the bench unit. But in the third quarter, the Lakers closed out the deal scoring 40 points.

None of the starters needed to play in the closing minutes of this blowout victory. Of all the starters, only Lonzo Ball played some minutes in the fourth quarter as the entire team cheered him on for his first triple double of the season.

The Lakers needed to win this one after a very frustrating loss against the Houston Rockets. And they responded brilliantly right from the tip off.

Here are the top 3 takeaways from the match:

#3 Lakers completely dominate third quarter

Good all round production for the Lakers

The Hornets fought back in the second quarter and it seemed as if they would make a close encounter out of this one. But the Lakers absolutely dominated the third quarter.

They had a 40-17 points advantage over the Hornets in that quarter alone, which destroyed any hopes that the Hornets had of a comeback.

Apart from James and Ball, the Lakers again got great production from McGee and Kuzma. McGee tallied 19 points for the team on 9-10 shooting from the field despite having some flu-like symptoms before the game. Kuzma continued his form in the absence of Ingram, going for 14 points.

The Lakers shot 53.3% from the floor and had a 52-38 advantage on the boards for the match. They had total control of the proceedings, to say the least.

#2 Scoring struggles for Kemba Walker

Walker was disappointing against the Lakers

When a top 10 scorer in the league goes for just 4 points in a game, it means the team is in deep trouble. Kemba Walker has already scored 60 points in a game this season, but he was totally outperformed in this match by Lonzo Ball.

Walker shot only 2-13 from the floor and 0-5 from the 3PT line, with Ball all over him on most of his shot attempts. He also finished the game with only 3 assists.

This was a match to forget for Walker who has otherwise been having a great season. He is averaging 25 PPG this season, and has led this Hornets team in scoring and assists.

Malik Monk had a team-high 19 points while Bridges contributed 17 points; they both had good individual outings from the bench.

The Hornets next play at home against the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers, and will be looking to bounce back from this loss.

#1 Triple doubles from BronZo

The Los Angeles Lakers are playing with great chemistry

LeBron James and Lonzo Ball each had triple doubles in this match, and it was their all-round displays that helped the Lakers to an easy victory.

This is the first time since Magic and Kareem in 1982 that two Lakers have recorded a triple double in the same match. James and Ball are just the eighth duo to achieve this feat in NBA history, and the first since Kidd and Carter in 2007.

LeBron started the game in his usual dominating manner. He scored 24 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out 11 assists for the game. Ball on his part got 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the game, and made several great defensive contributions to add 5 steals and 1 block to his stats.

Ball has really shone in recent weeks in the absence of Rajon Rondo.

The Lakers next play tomorrow against the Wizards.