The Los Angeles Lakers started their road trip with a blowout win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, sealing a 121-115 victory after giving up 71 points in the first half.
A key contributor for the Lakers was second-year guard Max Christie, who made his second straight start in the absence of Cam Reddish.
Christie not only contributed 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, but also performed well defensively against Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell in the second half. Mitchell performed well in the first half, scoring 16 points, but in the end he only scored 22 points on 4-of-18 shooting.
After the game, Lakers star LeBron James praised Christie’s defense and overall performance against Mitchell, believing that the coaching staff’s trust in him gave him confidence. Spectrum Sports Network:
“I think it helps when you have your coach’s trust. So knowing he’s going to get the call, he’s ready. He stepped up and he was outstanding tonight. One of the toughest matchups in this league. One is Donovan Mitchell, who obviously has the ability to score at all three levels, from the three-point line, from mid-range, into the paint. I just think he does a good job of just trying to keep his body tight Stick him up and let him take tough shots and not foul him. He made some big shots for us as well and he created games for us. “He’s great. “
Davis echoed James’ thoughts, praising Christie’s defense of Mitchell, especially late in the game when the score was close:
“Max just wanted to win. He played hard and accepted the challenge against a guy who is an elite scorer at all three levels. He made sure he understood his tendencies and accepted that challenge, especially on Late in the game, when the whole arena knows they’re going to go to him, especially with Darius Garland going down and stuff like that. So he’s a man that did it twice for us Important stay. You can’t ask for anything more from him because he took on that challenge in his second year and it showed a lot about him.”
Christie was not in the Lakers’ rotation to start the season, although he has started to get regular playing time recently as the team has been dealing with injuries.
If Christie can continue to play at this level, the coaching staff will have a tough decision to make as players get healthy as he looks like a rotational player who will continue to develop his game with more playing time.
Ham yells at Christie after Lakers win over Cavaliers
James and Davis weren’t the only ones to praise Christie, as Lakers head coach Davin Hamm paid special tribute to the second-year guard after the game.
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