The Los Angeles Lakers were back in action on Friday night, continuing their road trip against the New Orleans Pelicans in their second group play game of the Emirates NBA Cup.
The Lakers were looking to move to 2-0 in the NBA Cup, and they were able to do exactly that with a 118-104 victory to also improve their overall record to 9-4. With two group play games remaining, the Lakers are in the driver’s seat to move on to the knockout round.
Coming off his worst game of the season, Austin Reaves kicked off the scoring in this one with a corner triple, followed by five straight points by Marcus Smart. Reaves then went into playmaking mode, finding both Deandre Ayton and Smart in transition to give the Lakers an early 16-11 lead.
New Orleans took a timeout to try to stop L.A.’s momentum but it failed to do that as Luka Doncic and Reaves continued the run, which got up to 15-0 before a bucket by Trey Murphy. While the Lakers led by as many as 15, the Pelicans closed the quarter strong to cut their deficit to 35-25.
The Pelicans’ momentum continued with an 8-2 spurt to begin the second quarter to get back in the game. With the Lakers’ lead down to just two, Doncic returned to the game and hit a deep triple to restore order.
With Doncic getting to the free throw line at will and Ayton going to work on the offensive glass, the Lakers closed the half strong to take a 65-52 lead into the locker room.
The Lakers kept applying pressure in the third quarter, locking in on defense which allowed them to get out in transition. With everyone getting involved offensively, including a rare 3-pointer by Jarred Vanderbilt, the Lakers built their lead up to 22. Again though, the Pelicans closed the quarter strong to get back within 18 at 95-77.
New Orleans didn’t quit from there as a 12-0 run got them back within 10 and forced an L.A. timeout.
Reaves got to the free throw line to end the run and with the Lakers’ bench struggled, JJ Redick went back to his starters. Order was restored from there as back-to-back buckets by Reaves and Rui Hachimura got the lead back to 15.
The Pelicans kept hanging around but never really threatened the Lakers, who coasted to the victory.
What’s next for the Lakers…
The Lakers won’t be able to get much rest after this one as they will now travel to take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the second night of a back-to-back to close out their road trip on Saturday.
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