Lakers rally past Pelicans in 4th quarter for 3rd straight win
LOS ANGELES — The New Orleans Pelicans, finally fully-healthy after their entire roster has gone through spurts of absences over the past two years, gave the Lakers everything they had despite sitting near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
But it wasn’t enough as the Lakers (37-24) overcame a fourth-quarter deficit and 21 turnovers with a strong finishing kick for a 110-101 victory on Tuesday night, their third consecutive victory win. Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, draining a 3-pointer with a minute left for a 10-point lead, part of a 24-7 run to close the game.
LeBron James added 21 points and Deandre Ayton had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers, who overcame 21 turnovers. Their late surge was led by Doncic (10-of-22 shooting) and Austin Reaves, who missed his first eight shots of the night before finishing with 15 points.
New Orleans (19-44) jumped to an eight-point lead with just over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the Lakers finally awoke and held the Pelicans scoreless over the next 4:18.
Reaves hit a 3-pointer with 5:04 left to put the Lakers back ahead 96-94, and Smart and Doncic hit clutch 3-pointers in the final two minutes to seal it. Smart had 10 points, seven assists, four steals and three blocked shots in an impressive performance.
James, who added seven rebounds and seven assists, shot 8 of 12 from the field to move within two baskets of tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who holds the NBA’s career record for field goals at 15,837.
Zion Williamson, sidelined by a right ankle sprain for the Pelicans’ loss to the Clippers on Sunday – their only defeat in a five-game stretch – was back in the lineup for New Orleans. The Pelicans jumped out to a 16-12 lead in the first quarter after Trey Murphy III and Dejounte Murray made back-to-back 3-pointers before the former capped the run with a one-handed dunk to force Lakers coach JJ Redick to call a timeout.
Turning to a Doncic and Reaves-led lineup for a handful of minutes, the Lakers used a 9-2 run to close the deficit to one, using a three-point play from Doncic – who cut through Derek Queen and DeAndre Jordan to force contact and convert a 13-foot floater.
Then, James took over. Smart tossed a should-have-been alley-oop to James, who fell backward but controlled the pass as he fell to the floor. Continuing his dribble afterward, he spun and maneuvered to the rim and dunked through contact – and a foul from Murray – for a 37-35 lead with 10:48 left in the second quarter.
James burst by Jordan, forcing the 37-year-old former Laker to foul for a three-point play to extend the lead to five. Later in the quarter, after Smart swindled a second consecutive steal, Smart gave and go with James down the hardwood on his way to a classic, driving one-handed dunk to take a 63-56 lead with 8:01 to go in the third quarter.
Down by as much as 10, the Pelicans turned in a nine-point run to grab the lead – one they held until Reaves sank his 3-pointer midway through the fourth after Jaxson Hayes extended the possession with an offensive rebound, swinging the ball to Smart who found Reaves for the 96-94 lead. A Doncic turnaround jumper made it a four-point lead.
And with 1:34 remaining, Smart hit a 3-pointer from the right corner. He fell to the court as Williamson attempted to deny the shot. It still went in; just his third shot of the game providing the Lakers a seven-point lead and enough breathing room to hold on.
James, 41, will have to wait until Thursday night in Denver to surpass Abdul-Jabbar’s mark, which has stood since his retirement following the 1988-89 season.
James already holds the NBA record for career points, breaking Abdul-Jabbar’s other longstanding record with a fadeaway jumper on Feb. 7 2023.
Williamson scored 24 points in his return. Murphy added 21 points and Saddiq Bey had 18.
NOTES
The Lakers received three technical fouls in the game; charged to Doncic, Luke Kennard and Ayton. Doncic’s technical was his 14th of the season – he wasn’t whistled for a second despite clapping at a referee to protest a no-call in the final minutes. He’ll be suspended for one game if he gets a 16th T anytime during the remaining 21 games in the regular season.