Coming off a loss to the New York Knicks that snapped a three-game winning streak, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to get back on track versus the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday.
They did exactly that. They blitzed the Pelicans in the opening minutes and never looked back. Los Angeles scored the game’s first 14 points and led by as many as 40 points in the third quarter.
It did so by shooting 9-of-14 from 3-point range in the first quarter and 15-of-27 in the first half. Its 15 treys in the first half set a franchise record, and it lead 75-40 at intermission, a franchise record for the biggest first-half lead since it moved to Los Angeles.
The Pelicans made a run late in the third quarter and in the fourth quarter as the Lakers’ offense became slow, stagnant and turnover-prone. But it was too little, too late, as Anthony Davis and company held on for a relatively easy 123-108 victory.
Los Angeles is only in 10th place in the Western Conference, but it is tied with the ninth-place Dallas Mavericks, who hold the tiebreaker, and the eighth-place Oklahoma City Thunder with a 34-35 record. It is two games behind the sixth-place Los Angeles Clippers.
Anthony Davis: A
Davis scored just 25 combined in his last two games, and everyone was looking to see whether he would bounce back on Tuesday against his former team.
He did. He had 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the first quarter and finished with 35 points on 11-of-18 shooting and 12-of-13 from the free-throw line, plus 17 rebounds.
He was aggressive early, not just in terms of attacking the paint, but also in terms of going after rebounds on both the defensive and offensive boards.
Head coach Darvin Ham hinted that Davis might sit out Wednesday’s contest at the Houston Rockets, given it will be the second of a back-to-back set on the road. If he does, it will be a well-deserved night off.
Jarred Vanderbilt: B
Vanderbilt was more effective on Tuesday than he was on Sunday against the Knicks. He grabbed eight rebounds and dished three assists in 28 minutes while taking on the responsibility of guarding Brandon Ingram.
Although Ingram had a solid game with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting, he went 2-of-8 in the first half, as Vanderbilt made him work.
Troy Brown Jr.: B-plus
Brown was hot, especially early. He connected on 2-of-3 shots from downtown and 3-of-5 overall, giving him eight points plus five assists, four rebounds and two steals in 28 minutes.
D'Angelo Russell: B-minus
Russell shot well in the first half, both from 3-point land and overall, but he went cold in the second half. He finished 5-of-15 from the field and 3-of-9 from beyond the arc. He failed to make a single shot after intermission.
He also had just three assists while committing three turnovers in 33 minutes. Turnovers were a problem for the Lakers; they had 17.
However, Russell made contributions on the defensive end, something that generally isn’t expected from him, with two steals and two blocked shots.
Malik Beasley: A-plus
Beasley’s performance against the Pelicans must’ve felt like a huge wave of fresh air for him. After struggling over the last several games, he was 7-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first half and finished the game 7-of-12 from that distance.
Overall, he made 8-of-16 shots and scored 24 points, to go along with three assists, two rebounds and two steals in 31 minutes.
Los Angeles will need more games like this from Beasley if it is to make the playoffs and do damage there.
Rui Hachimura: B-plus
Hachimura seems to be getting hot. He scored 12 points in 20 minutes while shooting 4-of-7 overall and 2-of-3 from 3-point land on Tuesday, making it the fourth straight game he has scored at least a dozen points.
These are the performances the Lakers need from him on a consistent basis.
Wenyen Gabriel: A
In 15 minutes, Gabriel made half of his six shots to score six points while taking down eight rebounds. This was his best outing in the last several games, and he helped L.A. outrebound New Orleans by 11.
Dennis Schroder: D
In 19 minutes, Schroder shot 1-of-5 and missed both of his 3-point attempts while contributing three assists and two rebounds.
It speaks to the Lakers’ newfound depth that they won easily despite such a poor game from their backup point guard.
Austin Reaves: A-minus
Reaves has been on a magnificent run. In 29 minutes, he scored 14 points on 4-of-5 overall shooting and 3-of-4 from downtown, to go along with five assists, four rebounds and one steal.
He committed four turnovers, but other than that, Reaves has been a revelation over the past two seasons, especially this season as he has seemingly gotten better as time has gone on.
Davon Reed, Lonnie Walker IV, Max Christie: Incomplete
All three came in for about two minutes at the end of the game, and none of them made any positive contribution on the stat sheet.
