Two days before his 39th birthday, LeBron James scored 17 points and 11 assists, Anthony Davis had 26 points and eight rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Charlotte Hornets 133-112 on Thursday night.

The Lakers triumphed for the third time in nine games after winning the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament nearly three weeks ago, thanks to 17 points from Rui Hachimura and 16 points from Austin Reaves. Los Angeles outscored the struggling Hornets by 41 points in the third quarter, paced by Hachimura and James, who each scored 12 points.

Los Angeles built a 28-point lead early in the fourth quarter, and coach Darvin Ham rested James and Davis for the entire fourth quarter of a rare blowout victory for the Lakers, who had only eight double-digit victories this season.

“Guys were playing for each other, the right way,” Davis, who also blocked four shots, added. “Anytime I’m able to bank some minutes, especially going into a tough back-to-back in Minnesota and New Orleans, it helps us as a team.”

Although James is the NBA’s oldest player, he shows no signs of slowing down in his 21st season. He scored two 3-pointers and led the dramatic third-quarter revival while quarterbacking the offence for long minutes. Los Angeles had a season-high 41 assists.

“It’s always good things that happen when the ball is in his hands,” he remarked. “He’s a fantastic reader. He’s a gamer’s student. He’s seen every coverage and made a lot of excellent reads over his career, so every time we can get the ball in his hands is beneficial to us.”

D’Angelo Russell led the Lakers with 16 points and four 3-pointers, including his 1,300th of the season. While Los Angeles was running away, Reaves supplied the highlight of the second half with a smooth behind-the-back play to sneak by Terry Rozier for a layup.

“I believe that every time we step on the court, we can beat anybody we play,” Reaves was quoted as saying. “But just really figuring out what our identity is, in my opinion, the main thing, because we can be so good when we figure that out.”

Miles Bridges scored 20 points and Terry Rozier added 18 for the Hornets, who are on their longest losing streak since late 2014. Charlotte hung with the Lakers in the first half but struggled against LA’s zone defence after halftime and eventually lost its second straight game at this shared downtown venue to start a six-game trip.

“If we just guarded without fouling, I think we’d be good,” said freshman Brandon Miller, who scored 17 points. “I think being in the right places was the most important part tonight.” “I feel like I mishandled a few possessions.”

LaMelo Ball, a resident of the Los Angeles region, missed his 14th straight game for the Hornets due to a sprained left ankle. The Hornets must face both LA clubs, Phoenix, Denver, and Sacramento in eight days on this trip. Gordon Hayward (calf) and big man Mark Williams (back) are also out for Charlotte.

“Our guys have worked hard, (but) they know we’re short-handed,” Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. “This is a difficult journey. It’s not always how many injuries you have in this league, but when they happen. We’ve had more than our fair share of injuries, and this is not the time to be short-handed. But the other night (against the Clippers), we played 41 good minutes. We were standing right there. Tonight, we put in around 21 1/2 good minutes. All we have to do now is defend.”

Hachimura took his time getting out of the starting lineup after replacing Cam Reddish, who was out with a groyne injury. But, along with James and Davis, he led the way as the Lakers made 10 of their first 12 shots in the second half to take their first double-digit lead of the night.

In 32 games this season, Los Angeles used its ninth starting lineup combination. Last season, the Lakers were forced to deploy 39 different starting lineups, but James and Davis have been generally healthy this season, missing only five games combined. Darvin Ham, the team’s coach, stated that Davis and James will be available for both legs of their upcoming back-to-back road games in Minnesota and New Orleans to close off 2023.