April 1, 2026, 2:06 a.m. PT

One night after downing the Washington Wizards 120-101, the Los Angeles Lakers faced a key test in the form of the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team many feel has a real shot at reaching the NBA Finals. While Luka Dončić returned from his automatic one-game suspension that was triggered by his 16th technical foul of the season, veteran guard Marcus Smart missed his fifth straight game due to an ankle injury.

The Cavaliers got off to a fast start in this game by scoring the first six points, and when they went up 26-19 with 3:10 to go in the first quarter, it looked like Los Angeles was in some trouble. But L.A. then flipped the switch in a big way during the following period.

In the second quarter, it outscored the Cavaliers 33-19 to take a 65-53 halftime lead, and after putting up 45 points in the third quarter, it was in total control. The Cavs got to within 14 points midway through the final period, but that was as good as it would get for them.

The Lakers rolled to a 127-113 victory, and in one way, it may have been a surprising win. On the other hand, given how well they have played lately, and considering some of the other quality teams they have defeated, perhaps this is simply the new normal for a Lakers team that was inconsistent throughout December, January and February.

The Purple and Gold shot 54.2% from the field and 41.9% from the field, and as usual, they had a sizable advantage at the charity stripe, where they made 10 more free throws than Cleveland. They committed just 12 turnovers and had 26 assists while having plenty of fun moving the basketball around.

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They now have a 50-26 record and are one step closer to finishing third in the Western Conference, as they’re two full games ahead of the fourth-place Denver Nuggets. The Lakers finished March with a 15-2 record, and they’re starting to look like title contenders.

Jake LaRavia: A

LaRavia picked a good time to break out of his long offensive slump, at least for one game. He made all five of his shot attempts, which included two 3-pointers, giving him 14 points. In 38 minutes, he also got seven rebounds and had one steal.

This was his highest-scoring game since Feb. 28, as well as his first game since that date in which he made at least two treys. It was also the only game in March in which he reached double figures in scoring.

Deandre Ayton: A-minus

The Lakers needed Ayton to play tall and strong basketball since they were going up against two towers of power in Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. That’s exactly what they got from him.

He was involved throughout the game offensively, and he ended up making eight of his 13 shot attempts, resulting in him getting 18 points. He also grabbed nine rebounds and added one assist, one steal and one block in 28 minutes.

In contrast, Allen had 18 points but only four rebounds, while Mobley scored just six points and took only four field-goal attempts in 22 minutes.

Austin Reaves: B-minus

This was not an efficient game for Reaves. He went 2-of-8 in the first half, and although he improved a bit afterward, he finished 6-of-16 from the field and 2-of-9 from 3-point range. In 37 minutes, he had 19 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block and five turnovers.

But on the other end, Reaves helped hold Cleveland’s mighty starting backcourt in check. Donovan Mitchell, who came into this game averaging 28 points a game, mustered just 10 points, while James Harden scored a modest 17 points.

LeBron James: C-plus

On the very first play of the game, James rejected a Donovan Mitchell layup attempt. He didn’t do much heavy lifting in this game, but he did have five assists in the first half to help L.A. take control. In 31 minutes, he registered 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line, five rebounds, six dimes, one steal and one block.

The fact that the Lakers defeated a very good Cleveland team with James seemingly in cruise control for much of this game — and with Reaves not shooting well either — is a very promising sign.

Luka Doncic: A-plus

Doncic propelled the Lakers to their big lead by scoring 20 points in the first half. Earlier this season, he would have big first quarters or first halves only to slow down afterward, but that hasn’t been the case lately.

He added 15 points in the third quarter and got to 40 points for the third straight time and the 16th time this season. He scored a total of 42 points in this game, and the capper came on a breakaway that resulted in a surprising two-handed jam for him. Seven of his 16 40-plus-point games this season have come in March, a month in which he averaged 37.5 points per game on 49.2% overall shooting and 39.2% from downtown.

On Tuesday, Doncic shot 13-of-26 from the floor and 6-of-13 from beyond the arc while making all 10 of his free throw attempts. He also contributed 12 assists, five rebounds and two steals, and he did not commit a single turnover.

Rui Hachimura: A-minus

Hachimura supplied plenty of scoring off the bench in fewer minutes than he’s used to playing. He scored 14 points by making six of his eight shot attempts and two of his three 3-point tries in 19 minutes, and seven of his points came in the third quarter as the Lakers ran away with this contest.

Luke Kennard: C

In 23 minutes, Kennard attempted two shots and made one of them, giving him two points, one rebound and two assists.

Jaxson Hayes: B-minus

Hayes played 19 minutes and got three rebounds, scored four points on 2-of-4 shooting and added two steals and one assist.

Bronny James, Adou Thiero, Dalton Knecht, Drew Timme, Kobe Bufkin: Incomplete

The younger James played seven minutes, while Thiero, Knecht, Timme and Bufkin were in for the last 1:21 of the game. None of them made any statistical contributions.