Kuzma nets 24, lifts Lakers past short-handed Hornets 101-93

<p>CHARLOTTE, N.C. &mdash; Kyle Kuzma scored 24 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers held on for a 101-93 win against a Charlotte Hornets team missing five of its top six scorers on Tuesday night.</p>
<p>Dennis Schroder added 19 points and Andre Drummond chipped in with 12 rebounds for the Lakers, who closed out a seven-game road trip with a 4-3 record to remain in fifth place in the Western Conference.</p>
<p>Devonte Graham led the Hornets with 19 points. Caleb Martin had 17 points and 10 rebounds.</p>
<p>The Lakers held the Hornets to 43.4% shooting overall and 25.7% from 3-point range.</p>
<p>The game was largely a battle of backups, with the Hornets missing four starters due to injury and the Lakers three.</p>
<p>Charlotte was missing more than 72% of its scoring with Terry Rozier and P.J. Washington joining LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward and Malik Monk on the bench. The Lakers, who are still without All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, were missing Markieff Morris due to a sprained left ankle.</p>
<p>The Lakers built a 10-point lead in the closing seconds of the third quarter behind a jumper by Schroder.</p>
<p>But Charlotte cut the lead to one with 1:54 remaining behind a coast-to-coast layup and a 3-pointer from Graham. The Hornets had a chance to take the lead on their next possession, but Graham turned the ball over and Alex Caruso made them pay at the other end with a big 3 with 43 seconds left.</p>
<p>Graham missed a spinning 3-point attempt and Caruso made two free throws to push the lead to six with 28.1 left.</p>
<p>Graham answered with a runner and the Cody Zeller appeared to come up with a steal in the backcourt before losing control of the ball. The Hornets were forced to foul and Kuzma slammed the door on Charlotte with four free throws down the stretch.</p>
<p>TIP INS</p>
<p>Lakers: James supported his teammates from the bench throughout the game and got quite animated following a high-flying one-handed dunk from Kuzma over Bismack Biyombo. … Coach Frank Vogel picked up a technical foul in the second quarter when he argued a charge call against Drummond. … Marc Gasol (left hamstring) didn’t play despite being cleared before the game.</p>
<p>Hornets: Started their 15th different lineup. … James Borrego picked up a technical foul in the third quarter. … Had 18 turnovers resulting in 26 points for the Lakers.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Lakers: Return home to host the Celtics on Thursday night.</p>
<p>Hornets: Host the Cavaliers on the second night of a back-to-back Wednesday.</p>
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