The Los Angeles Lakers went on the road for a quick two-game trip, starting with the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.
The Lakers remained shorthanded without key pieces, but were looking for their third straight win to begin 2026. They were able to do that as they closed out the Pelicans in the fourth quarter to earn a 111-103 victory.
Deandre Ayton found LeBron James for a dunk to kick things off, and then the opposite happened with the Lakers jumping out to the early lead before Jeremiah Fears responded with five straight points.
L.A. had it going from deep early with James and Marcus Smart both connecting on triples. One person whose 3-ball wasn’t falling early though was Luka Doncic, so he went into attack mode and finished some buckets in the paint to extend the lead to 29-25 at the end of the first.
Jarred Vanderbilt was making an impact off the bench for the Lakers with his energy, creating transition opportunities with steals and deflections. L.A. got careless with the ball from there though, allowing New Orleans to tie the game and then take the lead.
Trey Murphy III was hot from deep and Zion Williamson was attacking the paint, while the Lakers stayed ice cold from deep. Doncic found James for a dunk near the end of the half, but the Pelicans still took a 54-51 lead into the locker room.
The Pelicans extended their lead to seven to begin the third quarter before the Lakers finally got going from deep with Doncic and Smart both hitting. Ayton then went to work inside to regain the lead for his team.
Murphy had another response for his team though as the Lakers continued to have no answer for his scoring ability. He was hitting everything as the Pelicans re-established their lead with a strong close to the third quarter to take an 86-79 lead into the fourth.
James went sicko mode to begin the final quarter with two triples and an assist to Vanderbilt to quickly regain the lead. Ayton then had a pair of buckets to extend the lead to five.
The Lakers began to gain some separation from there as Doncic hit a pair of triples, including a ridiculously deep one to beat the shot clock. Their defense then locked in to close out a third straight win.
What’s next for the Lakers…
The Lakers will close out their quick two-game road trip with a tough matchup against the San Antonio Spurs in the second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday before returning home and hosting the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
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