The Los Angeles Lakers have found their groove in recent weeks, now winning five straight games after a 104-99 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night.
Both teams were missing some key pieces due to injury and with it being the second night of a back-to-back on the road, the Lakers were definitely playing with some tired legs. They really struggled on the glass in the first half as a result, allowing the Pelicans to take a 10-point lead into the halftime locker room.
The Lakers locked in defensively in the third quarter though and received some big contributions from Anthony Davis, Dalton Knecht and LeBron James down the stretch to secure the victory.
As has been the case all season, Davis led the way with another dominant performance for the Lakers. He finished with 31 points to go along with 14 rebounds, one assist, two steals and a block on 12-of-20 shooting. Davis also made two of his four 3-point attempts as his jump shot has returned in a big way over the last handful of games.
When the Lakers were struggling to get anything going, it was Knecht that came through with a big third quarter to bring his team back. The rookie put together the best game of his young career, scoring a career-high 27 points to go along with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
While the scoring from Knecht was much-needed, the rebounding was as well as he committed to the defensive glass to help out in the second half.
James didn’t have a great night overall for the Lakers but he closed the game out with back-to-back triples, bringing out his famous celebration “The Silencer.”
Overall in 37 minutes in the second night of the back-to-back, James finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a steal.
While they came up short, it was a great effort overall for the Pelicans, especially considering how many of their players were out. Former Lakers forward Brandon Ingram was one of their only key guys playing and he led the way for his team with a game-high 32 points to go along with four rebounds, eight assists, three steals and a block.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will now return home and look to keep things rolling for three games, hosting the Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets. The game against the Jazz is a part of the group phases of the Emirates NBA Cup.
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