The Lakers were again buried under an avalanche of Cleveland Cavaliers three-pointers, the spacing and the gaps on the court pulling the Lakers’ defense to all corners before it eventually snapped under tension.
The result was the same, but the process and team the Cavaliers beat Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena in the final game of 2024 was fundamentally different from the one they blew out on Oct. 30 in Cleveland .
The version of the Lakers that got smoked in Cleveland was the one trying to get the most out of a formula that had already shown it had a ceiling, losing during the previous two postseasons to the Denver Nuggets. It was one that hoped a core of LeBron James , Anthony Davis , Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell paired with a new coach could find another gear, another level.