Top Takeaways from LeBron James, Lakers vs. Darius Garland, Cavs

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Ron Schwane/Associated Press

LeBron James has had plenty of great moments as a player for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He began his NBA career by playing for the Cavs for seven years, then he returned for four more seasons from 2014 to ’18, a span that included his leading the franchise to its first championship in 2016.

But James, a native of Akron, Ohio, has also played well when going up against the Cavaliers. And that was again the case on Monday night, when the 37-year-old returned to Cleveland to lead his Los Angeles Lakers to a much-needed win.

Not only did James power the Lakers to a 131-120 victory, but he notched a triple-double, recording 38 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds while shooting 17-for-29 from the field. With the win, James improved to 17-1 in his career when going up against the Cavs.

Here are some key takeaways from Los Angeles’ win in Cleveland.

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Ron Schwane/Associated Press

James has been dominant of late, putting up huge point totals in nearly every game for the Lakers. He’s tallied at least 30 in seven of his past nine games, yet Los Angeles is only 4-5 in those contests. His impressive showings haven’t been quite enough to power the Lakers to success.

That’s why it’s important for other players to step up for Los Angeles, which hasn’t been the case in some of its recent games. But on Monday, the Lakers got offensive production throughout their lineup, and it was a big reason why they came away with a victory.

Los Angeles had six players score double-digit points in the win. It wasn’t a surprise that James (38 points) and Russell Westbrook (20) did so. But the Lakers also got solid showings from D.J. Augustin (20 points), Malik Monk (12), Stanley Johnson (12) and Austin Reaves (11).

Augustin provided a huge spark off the bench, as he made all seven of his shot attempts, six of which were from three-point range. It was only his 11th game with the Lakers, who signed the 34-year-old guard on March 1.

“I’ve always flourished in my career with shooters, and D.J. is a shooter,” James said, per Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register. “He’s a big-time maker, and every time I see him have any split-second of open I’m gonna try to find him.”

With Augustin leading the way, the Lakers’ bench combined for 49 points. Monk (5-for-10) and Johnson (5-for-8) were also both efficient from the field. It showed what Los Angeles is capable of when it has more than just James knocking down shots.

The Lakers are 31-41, and one of the reasons why they haven’t been able to break out of their slump is a lack of players stepping up to perform well alongside James. But if guys like Augustin, Monk and more can start doing that down the stretch, it could help Los Angeles turn things around quickly.

Augustin won’t be perfect every night, and not everybody will have a hot hand in each game. But if he and a few other guys can mix in enough showings like this, it will give Los Angeles the depth it’s been lacking.

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Ron Schwane/Associated Press

Every time the Lakers have gotten a win over the past two months, it’s seemed like they might be close to going on a run. Instead, they’ve immediately followed it up with a loss.

Los Angeles hasn’t recorded consecutive victories since a four-game winning streak from Dec. 31-Jan. 7. It had lost 22 of 31 games entering Monday, as it hasn’t been able to establish sustained momentum over that stretch. Could this time be different?

Although the Lakers still don’t have a winning streak, they’ve won two of their past three games, as they also beat the Toronto Raptors in overtime last Friday. In between that victory and Monday’s win, they lost to the Washington Wizards on Saturday after playing three strong quarters and faltering in the fourth.

It’s not going to be easy for Los Angeles to get on a roll over its final 10 games of the regular season. Nine of those matchups are against teams that are in a position to either get into the playoffs or reach the play-in tournament. And six of them are on the road.

Despite being 31-41 and sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference, the Lakers remain confident.

“Internally we feel like we’re a great team and we can do something special,” Augustin said, per Goon. “Make a run. Get into the playoffs. And make a run in the playoffs.”

If Los Angeles can fare well over the next three weeks and build momentum for the play-in tournament—which is likely where it will be heading—perhaps Augustin will be right. But the Lakers have to prove their recent solid play isn’t a fluke and that they’ll play well for an extended period of time.