LeBron James scores 40 points, leads Lakers to win over Nets

NEW YORK — After Friday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers to end their season-best five-game winning streak, the Lakers were in need of a “get-right game” ahead of a back-to-back to close out this six-game trip.

Sunday night became that, with LeBron James scoring a season-high-tying 40 points, including 17 in the fourth, to lead the Lakers to a 116-104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center.

The Lakers (42-33) dominated the early parts of the game, including holding the Nets scoreless in the first half of the opening quarter, leading to an early Lakers’ 17-0 lead, a 31-7 advantage later in the quarter and eventually a 72-46 lead early in the third.

But Cam Thomas (30 points and six assists) made sure the Nets didn’t go down quietly, leading a 9-2 Nets run that trimmed Brooklyn’s deficit to 90-79 going into the fourth. Thomas opened the fourth with a 3-pointer to cut the Lakers’ lead to 90-82.

From there, James took over.

There were the back-to-back 3s from James that gave the Lakers a 96-82 lead with 10:50 remaining.

James continued to put pressure on the Nets’ defense, scoring five points over the next three minutes before hitting his third and fourth 3s of the game, including a fadeaway from the corner, to give the Lakers a 111-93 lead with 6:21 left.