The Charlotte Hornets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 117-114 at Spectrum Center on Friday, blowing the purple and gold to two straight losses.

The home team saw four players drop 20+points, led by Miles Bridges' 26. Mason Plumlee grabbed 17 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, and delivered six assists for the Hornets. By contrast, the Lakers' starting center DeAndre Jordan had only seven rebounds. Though both LeBron James and Anthony Davis sat in this game, the Lakers did not give even one minute to the other full-size big man of theirs, Dwight Howard one minute on the floor.

The purple and gold perimeter defense was the same disappointing, if not worse. The Hornets' three guards, Terry Rozier, LaMelo Ball and Ish Smith, all scored at least 20 points. However, 33-year-old Smith went 10-12 in field goals (FGs), including 4-4 under the rim. This is the 12th team Smith has played for since he joined the NBA in 2010. Somehow, the veteran could always find a job and an opportunity to make some surprising contributions.

"Stay ready, your opportunity is right around the corner," Hornets head coach James Borrego said. "You have to be ready for it. Every time we have called his number he has answered the bell."

Despite the win, the Hornets almost wasted a 20-point lead they established in the third quarter (71-51). When Stanley Johnson made the put-back shot to cut the trail to two points (116-114) for the Lakers, Hornets owner Michael Jordan was too anxious to sit in the box.

In the second half, Russell Westbrook carried the Lakers' offense on his shoulders by scoring 30 points in Q3 and Q4. Unfortunately, he's also the one who missed the game-winning 3-pointer at the last moment.

Though the purple and gold lacked two of their Big Three on Friday night, it meant the could give the ball to Westbrook as much as possible, the way he's been comfortable to run the game. Moreover, the Hornets have the second-fastest game pace and the sixth-worst defensive rating for the season. Both are helpful for Westbrook to make the best of his advantage in charging the rim.

Having gone 12-23 in FGs, Westbrook was 8-13 in the paint while earning 10 free throws, including eight made. He even drained three of the six shots from downtown before the last buzzer-beating attempt.

"I had just made two (3-pointers) just before that, so I will live and die with that one," Westbrook said.

"The hottest guy in the gym has the ball in his hands ready to make a play," Lakers head coach Frank Vogel "He was 3 for 6 from the 3 in the second half and went for the win. He knocks that down, we're talking about one hell of a win. It just didn't go down for us. Russell was spectacular in that second half. He just really willed our team into an opportunity to steal one on the road."

 Westbrook's last shot was not the most reasonable attempt. But when superstar players are in the zone like he was, they need the opportunity when it appears. By scoring 30 points in the second half, Westbrook proved that he still has what it takes to be a game-deciding superstar.

Randle has a lot to learn from Antetokounmpo

The Milwaukee Bucks beat the New York Knicks 123-108 at Fiserv Forum on Friday to make it back to the top 4 in the Eastern Conference.

The floor belonged to the Big Three of the home team on Friday night. Giannis Antetokounmpo went 12-19 in FGs and 12-16 in free throws to put down 38 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Jrue Holiday made four 3-pointers to score 24 points and 10 assists. Khris Middleton got 20 points and seven rebounds.

What's truly intimidating about Antetokounmpo was his way to dominate the competition. He was understandingly unstoppable under the rim (5-7) and continuously hurting the opponents' defense by stepping onto the free throw line time after time. Nonetheless, when the Greek Freak was able to make jumpers in the middle range like he did in Friday's game (5-6), it's hard to imagine what else could be done to stop him from taking over the court.

"The ball was coming off his hands really good tonight from a lot of different places," Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said of Antetokounmpo.

Despite the great performance of the home team's Big Three, the Knicks kept the game close most of the time. Evan Fournier and R.J. Barrett had 24 and 23 points, respectively, after combining eight triples. Barrett also drew 10 free throws and made eight of them.

Unfortunately, the Knicks highest-paid guy, Julius Randle was not part of the team's resilience. It's strange enough for him to only take nine FG attempts in the game; his attitude on the floor was more concerning. In spite of his size, athleticism and finishing ability in the paint, Randle rarely set the screen for his perimeter teammates. When he couldn't receive the ball in his favorite spots, Randle's body language was not only negative but also a bad influence on the rest of the team. His defensive efforts were barely found during most of his time in the game.

When Antetokounmpo was criticized for not being to help the Bucks in the playoffs, though he was already two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, he still kept refining his game by adding more off-ball cut-ins and middle-range shooting to his game, not to mention being named for the Defensive Player of the Year last season.

By contrast, Randle saw both of his middle-range shooting and 3-point rate drop dramatically this season. Instead of trying to help the Knicks on other fronts, his response was to dawdling over his work. The Knicks invested a lot of faith in him by offering four-year, $117-million contract extension in 2021 summer. Randle, however, is not doing well enough to reply to that trust.

Other games on Friday (away teams come first):

Detroit Pistons 103-119 Orlando Magic

Denver Nuggets 116-105 New Orleans Pelicans

Los Angeles Clippers 114-121 Miami Heat

Portland Trail Blazers 125-110 Houston Rockets

Utah Jazz 109-119 Memphis Grizzlies

Indiana Pacers 113-110 Oklahoma City Thunder

Chicago Bulls 122-131 San Antonio Spurs

Minnesota Timberwolves 124-134 Phoenix Suns