Coming off a frustrating loss to the New York Knicks this past Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers went into Tuesday knowing they needed to respond in a pivotal game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Lakers and Pelicans entered the night tied for one of the final two Play-In Tournament spots, making this a must-win for both squads. However, it was Los Angeles who ultimately prevailed as they got off to a fast start which led to a wire-to-wire victory.
Anthony Davis shouldered the blame and took responsibility for his poor performance against the Knicks, and he made good on his promise to play better as he dominated his former team once again. Davis set the tone for the Lakers right out of the gate, scoring the team’s first eight points and showing that his last game was a thing of the past.
New Orleans had no answers for him as he scored from his preferred spots on the floor, which allowed for his teammates to get quality looks of their own. The star big man finished the night with another impressive double-double of 35 points and 17 rebounds in just 33 minutes of action.
Malik Beasley had been slumping from behind the arc the past few games, but he broke out in a big way against the Pelicans. Beasley had it going early on, knocking down his first pair of outside looks and he didn’t let up as he continued to torch the New Orleans defense. The sharpshooter went 7-of-14 from distance, with all of the makes coming in the first half.
He was the team’s second-leading scorer with 24 points and his outside shooting was the primary reason why the Lakers went up big and never looked back.
D’Angelo Russell also got off to a quick start, nailing looks from 3-point land before eventually cooling off. However, Russell contributed in several other areas, must notably defensively where he registered 2 steals and 2 blocks. The starting guard rounded out the statsheet with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura led the way for the bench, combining for 26 points on an efficient 8-of-12 shooting. Hachimura in particular had a great overall game, scoring within the flow of the offense and playing excellent defense.
What’s next for Lakers
Los Angeles doesn’t get much time to rest as they play the Houston Rockets to end their back-to-back road set. They come back home to L.A. on Friday where they get another pivotal game for the standings against the Dallas Mavericks.
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