Lakers player grades: L.A. ends losing streak thanks to LeBron James

After three straight losses, and with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sidelined for an indefinite amount of time, the Los Angeles Lakers desperately needed to find a way to get back on track. On Thursday, they headed north to face the Golden State Warriors, a team that has its own serious issues.

It's hard to find another NBA team that is currently more short-handed than the Lakers, but that's the situation Golden State is in. It had a whopping eight players unavailable for Thursday's contest due to injury or illness, including Stephen Curry. The Purple and Gold were very happy to take advantage.

They took an early 16-8 lead, but offensive rebounding and second-chance points kept Golden State in it throughout the first quarter. Three quick turnovers early in the second quarter allowed Golden State to put together nine unanswered points and go ahead 32-28. However, the Lakers responded with a 17-4 run and were up 53-49 at halftime and 82-73 after three quarters, and by scoring the first eight points of the fourth period, they put the game out of reach.

Although Los Angeles didn't score a lot of points, it did put together a very efficient performance offensively. It shot 61.3% from the field and 55.2% from 3-point range, and it notched 37 assists on 49 made baskets. Defensively, it forced 19 turnovers and scored 28 points off those turnovers, and its overall defense allowed it to generate an 18-8 edge in fast-break points.

With a 119-103 victory, the Lakers stopped their losing skid and moved from fifth to fourth place in the Western Conference with a 51-29 record. They can finish with the third seed if they win both of their remaining games against the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz and if the Denver Nuggets, who are currently in third place, lose one of their remaining games versus the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.

Rui Hachimura: B-minus

With Doncic and Reaves out, the Lakers are going to Hachimura more, and he's doing a good job of being aggressive in terms of looking for his shots and attacking off the dribble. This wasn't an efficient game for him — he scored 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting, but he did make two of his four 3-point attempts, and he did put a decent amount of pressure on the Warriors.

In 30 minutes, he also had two rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Jake LaRavia: A

Things have been very rough for LaRavia offensively for much of this season, and especially over the last five or six weeks. But he was in the zone versus Golden State. The forward made all but one of his seven shot attempts and five 3-point tries, giving him 16 points in 31 minutes. He also contributed seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block.

He's starting to run the floor better in transition, which allows him to get easy baskets and fatten up his shooting percentage, and that's the type of thing that can help a player shoot better from long range.

Deandre Ayton: A-minus

After Tuesday's loss to the Thunder, Lakers coach JJ Redick said that Ayton's offensive opportunities have been limited because the big man has been having trouble catching the basketball. But Ayton had no such trouble on Thursday.

His teammates got him involved early, allowing him to score seven points in the first quarter. He then put up a dozen points in the third quarter to help the team gain some separation, and his mid-range jumper was potent in this game.

Ayton finished with 21 points on 9-of-11 field-goal shooting and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. He only got five rebounds in 31 minutes, but he gave the Lakers the kind of offensive output they needed from him — and then some.

Luke Kennard: A

Kennard continues to show the world the extent of his all-around skills. He scored 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, but he also dished off eight assists, giving him a total of 28 assists in his last three games. In five of his prior eight seasons, he didn't have a single game with more than six dimes, but he has registered at least eight dimes in each of his last three contests.

In 32 minutes, he also chipped in two rebounds, four steals and just one turnover. He may not be a point guard, but since Doncic and Reaves got injured, Kennard has been doing a fine job of masquerading as a point guard.

LeBron James: A

James continues to prove that he still has plenty left in the tank, even at age 41. He controlled the first half offensively with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, but he appeared to hurt his hand with 6:01 to go in the third quarter when he blocked a shot attempt by Pat Spencer. James remained in the game, and he ignited the run that put the game away in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter by scoring, creating several fast-break opportunities and even playing defense. During that time, he had six points and five assists.

Overall, he posted 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field, and he even hit three of his five 3-point attempts, which is a good sign, as he came into this game shooting just 30.9% from downtown. He also had 11 assists, eight rebounds, two steals and one block in 32 minutes.

Jarred Vanderbilt: B-minus/B

Vanderbilt played 26 minutes on Thursday, and he obtained six rebounds while dropping five assists. He scored just two points on 1-of-3 shooting, but he made a nice impact when he was on the court.

Bronny James: B/B-plus

The younger James produced at a very respectable level by scoring 10 points, making four of his seven shot attempts and hitting two of his four attempts from beyond the arc. He also had three assists, one rebound and two steals, although he did commit three turnovers in 21 minutes.

Nick Smith Jr.: A

Smith got onto the court for 11 minutes, and he scored 12 points by making four of his five shot attempts, all of which came from behind the 3-point line. All of his production came in the fourth quarter and helped the Lakers maintain a big lead.

Drew Timme: B-minus

Timme was given nine minutes of playing time, and he responded with four points on 2-of-3 shooting, one rebound, two assists and two turnovers.

Dalton Knecht, Adou Thiero, Kobe Bufkin, Maxi Kleber: Incomplete

Knecht, Thiero and Bufkin came in during garbage time, and Thiero got a few additional minutes of playing time in the second quarter. Knecht and Thiero went scoreless, and Thiero had a shot attempt near the rim stuffed by Charles Bassey. Bufkin scored one basket on two attempts and also had one rebound.

Kleber was on the court for five minutes, and he contributed one rebound.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers player grades: L.A. ends losing streak thanks to LeBron James