The Los Angeles Lakers were able to come up with their first win of the Emirates NBA Cup last week on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies, and they added another Group B victory when they handled the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Lakers improved their record 9-4 and will now have two home games to host for their remaining NBA Cup group play matchups against the L.A. Clippers and Dallas Mavericks.
Austin Reaves led the way in the victory over New Orleans, scoring a team-high 31 points in 39 minutes of action to go along with seven assists, four rebounds, one steal and one block. Reaves has struggled shooting the basketball since returning from a groin strain, so this was an encouraging sign for L.A. moving forward.
The Lakers have mostly looked mediocre during their five-game road trip and the win against the Pelicans wasn’t as clean as head coach JJ Redick probably would have liked. Los Angeles was in control for most of the evening following the first quarter, but New Orleans threatened a comeback on several occasions.
Regardless, the purple and gold picked up the much-needed win and are in prime position to win their group.
Meanwhile, the other Los Angeles team in the Clippers also moved to 2-0 in group play after coming up with a 133-127 win over the Dallas Mavericks who are still looking for their first win in the tournament. The game went into double overtime, with James Harden dropping 41 points to lead the way. D’Angelo Russell and Naji Marshall both scored 28 points in the losing effort to the Clippers. Because the game went into overtime though, the point differential for both teams was considered to be 0.
The Memphis Grizzlies didn’t play, but are in third place after previously beating the Mavericks 118-104.
The Lakers hold a strong lead over the Clippers for first in the group due to the point differential, though things can change when the two teams meet on Tuesday, Nov. 25. The Lakers will close out group play a few days later on Friday, Nov. 28 against the Mavericks.
The Emirates NBA Cup has added some extra intrigue to the regular season, though for the Lakers winning the title is secondary to their ultimate goal of competing for an NBA championship. Winning games along the way helps their overall record, so it’ll be fun to see how they handle the next couple of weeks.
Emirates NBA Cup West Group B standings
1. Los Angeles Lakers: 2-0, +19 point differential
2. Los Angeles Clippers: 2-0, +2 point differential
3. Memphis Grizzlies: 1-1, +9 point differential
4. Dallas Mavericks: 0-2, -14 point differential
5. New Orleans Pelicans: 0-2, -16 point differential
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