Thanks to an excellent road trip and a well-timed skid from the Sacramento Kings, the Lakers showed up at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday with a chance to move, however temporarily, into the 8th spot in the Western Conference. 

That would, however, require a strong effort against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who entered as the 3-seed in the Eastern Conference. So no pushover there. 

Winner winner, chicken dinner. LA beats the Cavs, 116-97. After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Lakers took control of the game, and after letting Cleveland take the lead in the third following a huge run, the Lakers took it right back and never let the Cavs back into the game. Ultimately, it was one of their better games inside this hot streak, especially on the defensive end. The Lakers were particularly effective against Cleveland's guard combo of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, holding them to 36 points on 15-38 shooting. 

The Lakers, meanwhile, got big performances from Anthony Davis (including six blocks), LeBron James (24/5/12) and a game high 28 from D'Angelo Russell. Taurean Prince, meanwhile, kicked in with 18 off the bench, and Gabe Vincent was +15 in 14 minutes, despite not scoring and only notching a pair of assists. That's because of his defensive work. 

The Lakers move on now to play Minnesota tomorrow at home. This game will go a long way to determining whether the Lakers can hold onto that 8 spot, or even move up with a huge season-finale upcoming against the Pelicans. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

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