After falling in the final moments of Thursday’s game against the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Lakers needed a win to immediately get back on track and avoid getting into yet another rut.
They had the opportunity to do so on Friday at home against the New Orleans Pelicans, a team that came in with a 30-21 record and a four-game winning streak. New Orleans sat in sixth place in the Western Conference when the game began, while the Lakers were in ninth place at 27-26.
Both teams were red-hot in the opening minutes of the game, and after a back-and-forth first quarter, the Lakers took control in the second quarter by outscoring New Orleans 51-35. They led at halftime 87-74, and their 87 points were just two shy of the franchise record for most points in a first half, which was set during the 1986-87 season.
The Pelicans cut into L.A.’s lead early in the third quarter as L.A. lost plenty of steam, but a 16-6 run to end the quarter gave the Purple and Gold a 115-102 advantage. Despite perhaps appearing to be somewhat bored and complacent in the second half, the Lakers glided to a 139-122 victory.
For once, they actually outscored their opponents from behind the 3-point line. They went 14-of-31 (45.2%) from 3-point range, while New Orleans hit 11 treys and shot 37.9% from that distance. While they got outrebounded by nine, they turned the ball over just seven times and attempted nine more free throws.
This was an important win for L.A. in terms of trying to move up in the standings because it gave the team a 2-1 advantage over the Pelicans in the season series. The two teams will meet one more time on April 14 in Louisiana.
The Lakers will now have three full days off before hosting the Detroit Pistons, who have the worst record in the NBA, on Tuesday.
Anthony Davis: B-minus/B
Davis picked up his third foul with 4:10 left in the first quarter after scoring eight points to pace the Lakers up to that point. He surprisingly returned with 6:26 left in the second quarter, but he managed to avoid picking up his fourth foul before halftime.
This wasn’t the usual dominant game from Davis. He scored just 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and had only six rebounds, but he did have six assists. He’s been piling up assists lately and making teams pay for double-teaming him — this was the 10th game in the last six weeks in which he has had at least six dimes.
Rui Hachimura: A
Hachimura bounced back very well from a very poor game on Thursday. He scored 16 first-half points on 7-of-10 shooting, and he did an outstanding job of attacking the basket, both off the dribble and without the ball.
His activity and aggression resulted in 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting plus five rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot in 37 minutes for him.
When Hachimura is consistently involved in the Lakers’ offense, they’re a much better team.
Austin Reaves: A
Reaves made each of his first seven shots in this game, and he finished with 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting while connecting on three of four attempts from downtown. The Lakers shared the ball well with 32 assists, and while Reaves only had four assists after posting back-to-back games with double-digit assists, all that ball movement made life easy for him.
D'Angelo Russell: A
With Davis on the bench in foul trouble, Russell hit four straight 3-pointers early in the second quarter to help carry L.A.’s offense. He scored 21 points in the first half, and for the game, he had a team-high 30 points while going 6-of-13 from 3-point land and dropping five dimes.
Russell’s hot shooting for most of the past month has helped the Lakers raise their offensive production. Since moving back into the starting lineup nearly a month ago, he has put up 24.4 points on 46.5% shooting from beyond the arc, while the team has averaged 123.3 points a game, which has ranked third in the NBA during that time.
LeBron James: B/B-plus
James didn’t score his first basket until there was 1:12 left in the first quarter. He seemed content to set the table for others early on, but he ramped things up by scoring 10 points in the second quarter as the Lakers built a double-digit lead.
On the night, he scored 21 points, but he dished off 14 assists to key his team’s offensive attack. On nights like this, he will gladly take a step back and simply get others involved, and it’s a good thing, as heavy production from his teammates will help preserve him moving forward.
Taurean Prince: D
This was a night where the Lakers’ starter scored nearly all of their points. Prince had been playing well off the bench since being reassigned to that role this past Saturday versus the New York Knicks, but he missed his only two shot attempts versus New Orleans. He scored just three points and had two rebounds and one assist in 21 minutes.
Jaxson Hayes: B/B-plus
Much like Thursday’s game against the Nuggets, Hayes brought the energy and effort on Friday. He grabbed eight rebounds, three of them on the offensive glass, while scoring six points and adding two steals and one blocked shot.
He gave Los Angeles 17 quality minutes, and if he continues to play like this, the team will have another viable option to back up Davis at the center position.
Skylar Mays: B-minus
With Max Christie out due to a sprained ankle, Mays played significant minutes for the first time as a Laker on Friday. His stats — two points on 1-of-5 shooting and one rebound — weren’t impressive at all, but he provided steady ball-handling to help take some pressure off of James.
He even blocked a 3-point attempt by Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado late in the first quarter.
Christian Wood: B-minus
In six minutes, Wood made a contribution with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, which included a 3-pointer. All but two of his points came in garbage time, but perhaps shooting well on Friday will improve his confidence moving forward.
Jalen Hood-Schifino, Dylan Windler: Incomplete
Both players went scoreless in three minutes of garbage time. Hood-Schifino contributed one rebound, while Windler had one assist.
