The Charlotte Horners went out to Los Angeles and took care of the Lakers on Thursday night in a convincing 135-117 victory. Rookie Kon Knueppel, playing his first game in front of all the glamorous celebrities courtside,

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered another difficult night on Thursday, falling 135-117 to the Charlotte Hornets. Even a combined 68 points from Luka Doncic and LeBron James could not mask the defensive lapses that defined the loss.

The Lakers beat the Hornets 121-111 in Charlotte as 8.5-point favorites on Nov. 10. The Over (230.5) hit in the win. Doncic scored 38 in the win while Hornets F Miles Bridges had 34 in a losing effort.

The Lakers have found their standard. The execution is the ultimate test. "Hopefully we can find that consistency," JJ Redick said.

LeBron James had 31 points. 10 assists and nine rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers emphatically snapped their three-game skid with a 141-116 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

BOTTOM LINE: The Portland Trail Blazers host the Los Angeles Lakers in Western Conference play Saturday. The Trail Blazers are 16-14 in Western Conference games. Portland has a 12-17 record against opponents over .500. The Lakers are 18-10 against Western Conference opponents. Los Angeles is 11-9 against opponents over .500.

The Hornets and Lakers appear to be two teams in different standings, but they have the exact same point differential (-0.6) on the season. This will be a whole lot closer than folks think, and a win wouldn't be totally shocking. However, I think Luka Doncic will be too much, and the home-court advantage gives LA a slight edge.

The Lakers were once again outplayed by a hungrier team as the Hornets got hot and completely blitzed them from the perimeter.

Samson Nacua, the older brother of Los Angeles Rams star Puka Nacua, won't be charged for car theft after he mistakenly took a vehicle owned by Los Angeles Lakers rookie Adou Thiero, thinking it belonged to Puka.

The Atlanta Hawks are in town to face the Los Angeles Lakers and they are looking to get their fourth straight win and even their record to 21-21. Ahead of the