After only winning twice for the entire month of December, the Los Angeles Lakers collected their third win of January after only eight days of the New Year, beating the Orlando Magic 111-95.
With the victory, the Lakers suddenly and miraculously found themselves squarely back in the playoff chase. After Sunday's victory, the Lakers were only 2.0 games back of the eigth and final playoff spot.
Sunday's game against the Orlando Magic also provided a great deal of confidence in the team having finally passed a sour patch in the season that saw the team go from being being 10-10 in late November before losing 15 of the next 17 games.
Along with the return to health of D'Angelo Russell and Nick Young, the recent resurgance has been fueled by the improved play of rookie Brandon Ingram and the increased activity of forward Julius Randle.
Randle, who recorded his second triple-double of the season to give the Lakers' their first win of 2017, is averaging 16.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists to start the New Year. On Sunday, Randle finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Ingram, who is a 19-year-old that constantly draws comparisons with Kevin Durant for his physical stature, has scored in double figures in three straight games. To put that improvement in perspective, the former Duke Blue Devil only had three games where he scored in double figures in all of December. Against the Magic, Ingram scored 17 points on 6/9 shooting from the field, meaning was shooting 62.5 percent and 44.4 percent from beyond the three-point arc over his previous three games.
LA improved to 15-26 on the season with the victory.
Sports
Get today's sports news out of Los Angeles. Here's the latest on the Dodgers, Lakers, Angels, Kings, Galaxy, LAFC, USC, UCLA and more LA teams.
In addition, the Lakers also expect injured forward Larry Nance Jr. back from a bone bruise in his knee within the next two weeks, and the 24-year-old's return would return the Lakers' roster to full health.
Next, the Lakers host the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, Jan. 10.
