In a game the Lakers needed for the standings and to head into the All-Star break with some momentum, they played a wonderful game on both sides of the ball to beat the Pelicans 120-102 for a wire-to-wire win on Wednesday night.
LeBron James made his return after missing the last three games with a sore left ankle and, with him back for the first time since the trade deadline, Darvin Ham deployed a new starting lineup featuring three newcomers in D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt next to LeBron and Anthony Davis.
That new group came out strong, setting a tone early by showing a level of chemistry that could not be expected for a group that had never played together before. The new-look starting group jumped out to a 17-4 lead to begin the game, generating assists on every made basket.
That momentum carried forward through the end of the quarter where the Lakers would tally 38 points, assisting on 13 of their 14 made baskets to take a 13-point lead into the 2nd quarter.
The Pelicans, however, were not going to fold up and go home after one bad period and battled back in that second frame. Ratcheting up their ball pressure defensively and finding their stride offensively, New Orleans began to cut down their deficit as the Lakers struggled from the field. After that hot shooting 1st quarter, the Lakers went 0-7 from deep in the 2nd, paving the way for a 26-17 Pelicans advantage in that period.
In the 2nd half, however, the Lakers would rediscover that 1st quarter success to pull away. Russell would lead the way for the Lakers in the 3rd quarter, scoring 10 of his 21 points in the period by getting to the foul line and hitting his outside shot. Russell added three of his team high seven assists in the quarter, showing off a level of playmaking that kept the Pelicans defense off balance.
Beyond Russell’s exploits, however, it was AD who carried the Lakers most of the night and really made an impact in the 3rd quarter as well. Davis was excellent on both sides of the floor, leveraging his length, quickness, power, and touch around the basket to truly dominate his former team.
Davis would finish the night with 28 points while shooting 13-17 from the floor, grabbing 10 rebounds, to go along with five assists, 2 blocks, and a steal. And it was that defensive force that he brought which really anchored the Lakers efforts on that end, helping to hold the Pelicans to 43.8% shooting from the floor for the game.
LeBron also played a very well in his first game action since breaking the all-time scoring mark. Sticking to a plan of wanting to play around 30 minutes, LeBron hit half of his 14 shots from the field to score 21 points while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out six assists in 29 minutes. He played with great force in transition and in the halfcourt, getting to the rim and finishing well through and around defenders looking to wall off the paint.
All in all, this was a great team win. While they were led by their big three scorers overall, every Laker who played at least 15 minutes scored at least four points and all but one of them handed out an assist. The team tallied 32 assists on their 44 made baskets and only committed 10 turnovers as a team the entire night.
The Lakers will now get a full week off for the All-Star break and will return to action against the Warriors next Thursday.
