Here are the scores, updates, and results of the NBA 2021-2022 Regular Season between the Charlotte Hornets (CHA) vs the Los Angeles Lakers (LAL) on January 29, 2022 (All times are in Philippine Standard Time) at the Spectrum Center.
The Charlotte Hornets survives the Los Angeles Lakers’ rally in the second half and pulls away with a victory with a final score of 117-114.
Russell Westbrook carried the Lakers, who played without star players such as James and Anthony because of injuries. Not only them, but the Lakers are also missing Monk who is currently suffering from a sore left groin.
Westbrook tallied 35 big points, grabbed four boards, and dished out five assists. The elite guard went all out on his scoring against the Hornets as he drove towards the rim for a deuce and even pulled up from outside of the three-point line where he hit three three-point shots.
Westbrook had a chance to send the contest to overtime with little to no time remaining left in the game at 114-116, but he pulled up a three-point shot to give his team the winning advantage. However, he missed the shot, resulting to another loss for the Lakers. There were no signs of regrets after he took that shot.
“I had just made two (3-pointers) just before that, so I will live and die with that one,” Westbrook said.
Frank Vogel, the head coach of the Lakers, also had no problem with the winning shot of his all-star guard.
“The hottest guy in the gym has the ball in his hands ready to make a play,” Vogel shared. “He was 3 for 6 from the 3 in the second half and went for the win. He knocks that down, we’re talking about one hell of a win. It just didn’t go down for us. Russell was spectacular in that second half. He just really willed our team into an opportunity to steal one on the road.”
Meanwhile, Bridges showcased another stellar performance for the Hornets, scoring 26 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and showed off his dunk packages. Ish Smith provided scoring off the bench with 22 points on 10-12 shooting.
Ball and Rozier both added 20 points for the team. Anthony had 19 for the Lakers while Reaves had 16.
On the final play, when Bridges got switched to defend the hot-handed Westbrook, he figured that Westbrook was going for the dub with the Lakers playing on the road.
“I know he didn’t want to go to overtime,” Bridges said. “I tried to get a good contest on him.”
Hornets vs Lakers
21-31; 28-34; 26-22; 29-30
The scores:
Hornets (117) – Bridges 26, Smith 22, Ball 20, Rozier 20, Washington 12
Lakers (114) – Westbrook 35, Anthony 19, Reaves 16, Bazemore 13, Ellington 9