Lakers News: Los Angeles Collapses Down Stretch, Falls To Pelicans 131-126
Tonight in Smoothie King Center, your Los Angeles Lakers lost an absolutely pivotal game against one of their direct competitors in the race for the Western Conference play-in tournament, the New Orleans Pelicans. LA coughed up a 12-point second half advantage over the Pelicans.
New Orleans power forward Brandon Ingram, who was shipped to the Pelicans as part of the Anthony Davis trade, had his best game yet since returning from a two-month layoff, scoring 35 points against the team that drafted him, including the ultimate dagger.
Everything was coming up Milhouse for Los Angeles in the game's first half. Immortal All-Star power forward LeBron James looked like his typical athletic self, scoring 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting and pulling down five boards. He threw down this slam at one point, just in case you were wondering if he was showing any signs of aging:
Anthony Davis paced LA with 18 points at halftime on 8-of-12 shooting. Reserve point guard Russell Westbrook poured in 12 of his own. Surprisingly, the Lakers had a fairly robust three-point shooting start to their night, nailing 40% of their treys, a big advantage over the Pelicans' 15%.
Los Angeles led by double digits, 72-61, at the break, thanks in large part to an active 40-point second quarter.
Things fell apart in the game's ensuing second half, however. A 42-point New Orleans third quarter powered by Ingram, Jose Alvarado and Jonas Valanciunas, plus the Pelicans' active wing defense against LA, helped New Orleans rally from a 12-point third quarter deficit.
At least Dennis Schröder's two-man passing game with James continues to impress:
His passing game looked pretty spiffy with AD, too:
Schröder would finish with 10 assists but just seven points on the night.
Wenyen Gabriel got some run after riding pine a lot of late (he didn't play in three of the Lakers' four previous contests):
With 11 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, New Orleans tied LA, 106-106. The Pelicans eventually took a 114-108 lead a few minutes later.
Reserve LA small forward Troy Brown hit two huge triples (sandwiched around a CJ McCollum drive) in the fourth to help the Lakers tie things up again at 116-116.
LA head coach Darvin Ham finished with a lineup comprising four of his five starters, with Troy Brown Jr. playing in the stead of starting small forward Rui Hachimura (beyond the absence of Hachimura, that also meant Russell Westbrook would again be mercifully sidelined). In so doing, he ceded a ton of size to New Orleans, especially by sticking 6'1" LA guard Patrick Beverley on 6'8" Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram.
Beverley scored his first field goal of the night with just under two minutes left in regulation, a slick circus take that got LA within four, 127-123. Ingram responded with a huge pull-up midrange jumper almost immediately.
The game was effectively over, as James padded his stats a bit in the contest's dwindling seconds. New Orleans snapped its 10-game skid with a 131-126 final.
Ingram finished with a game-high 35 points on 15-of-28 shooting from the floor. Only three other Lakers finished in double digits, all off the bench, wich is kind of a problem: Russell Westbrook (15 points on 6-of-11 shooting in just 22:54), Troy Brown Jr. (13 points on 5-of-9 shooting) and Lonnie Walker IV (11 points on 4-of-8 shooting in just 15:46). LA's prized new acquisition, Rui Hachimura, had a pretty quiet night, scoring just eight points on 2-of-7 shooting in 18:55.
Davis led all Lakers with 34 points in 38:26, although he had already scored 30 of those points in his first 23 minutes of action. He also chipped in 14 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. James had 27 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the floor, nine rebounds, and six assists. He is now just 36 points away from surpassing fellow Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time regular season scoring record of 38,387 points.
