Lakers vs. Nets Final Score: Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram power 102-99 victory

The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t make it easy down the stretch but came up with a 102-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets went on an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter that brought the the Lakers’ lead down to one, but a bailout three-pointer from Josh Hart despite getting knocked over in the process of shooting was the back-breaker LA needed in the final minutes.

The Lakers had a strong all-around effort, with five players reaching double-digit scoring. The bench didn’t have the big impact it’s had through much of the time without Lonzo Ball in the rotation, the reserves combining for 30 points

It was a story of two halves for Julius Randle, who was knocking over bodies like pins in a bowling alley through the first half en route to 16 points and six rebounds. He’d finish the game with a double-double, notching a team-high 19 points and 12 rebounds. There was no bigger pull down than the offensive rebounded he grabbed in the final seconds of what was still a two-point game, sealing Brooklyn’s fate with a little hustle.

Brandon Ingram also put together his own double-double, dishing out a season-high 10 assists to go with 16 points. Kyle Kuzma had a relatively quiet game, scoring six points on three-of-nine shooting.

Jarrett Allen had an impressive game for the Nets, scoring 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting. He also had a huge swat on Brook Lopez in the fourth quarter, which Brook happily returned-to-sender moments later. D’Angelo Russell scored 15 points on 7-of-18 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench.

The Lakers did more than enough right to win, including hitting 14 of their 20 free-throws, and were rewarded for it. Closing out the game was an anxiety-inducing struggle after such a good showing, but they managed to do just enough to cut their losing streak at two.

Next up, a trip to Oklahoma City on Sunday.