NEW ORLEANS The Los Angeles Lakers are back in the win column in their fourth contest of their five-game road trip, dropping the Pelicans 118-104 in New Orleans on Friday evening to improve their record to 9-4 and 2-0 in NBA Cup games.
The Cup Nights win has the Lakers sitting second among the West leaders and in first place in the West Group B standings in front of the Clippers, Grizzlies, Mavs and Pelicans. Their next Cup games will be at home on Nov. 25 (vs. LAC) and Nov. 28 (vs. DAL).
Following their worst loss (29) of the season, the Lakers were in desperate need to gain back momentum, a loss that coach Redick said wasn’t a reflection on who they are. The main issues in their losses on the road trip were bad starts and setting the tone, two things that Redick said they did well in New Orleans.
“For us, the fact that we got off to a good start for the first time on this trip, that [starting] group set the tone to start both halves,” Redick said. “A much better defensive game for us. I thought the 28 assists were huge. Austin and Luka getting 19 of those.”
Austin Reaves was the Lakers’ leading scorer (31 points) as he found more opportunities with the Pelicans blitzing and doubling Luka Dončić throughout the game.
“That’s how we’re going to play if they double me. I always accept the double; I like the double. It makes you play 4 on 3,” Dončić said, who finished with 24 points and 12 assists.
Dončić acknowledged that they missed a lot of open shots with the “amazing” looks they had, saying they could have scored 150 points.
“If you’re open, you got to take the shot no matter what. At the end of the day, we won the game, so nothing else matters,” he added.
Deandre Ayton was another x-factor in the Lakers Cup win, notching his fifth double-double of the season and a near-perfect shooting night. Ayton accounted for 20 of the Lakers’ 60 points in the paint, shooting 10-for-11 from the floor with 16 rebounds (season high).
The bounce-back 14-point win in New Orleans nearly saw a late-game collapse. L.A. had played three quarters of near-perfect Lakers basketball, keeping together and gaining a 20-point lead cushion throughout the third quarter.
Then, when the Lakers took their foot off the gas, New Orleans found a way to create momentum behind their Smoothie King Arena home crowd. The Pelicans went on a 15-5 run between the end of the third and the top of the fourth quarter, erasing a 22-point Laker leadtheir highest of the game.
The Lakers were able to close out the game after Redick brought in his starters as New Orleans cut the deficit to single digits with 2:15 to go, improving their road record to 6-2 thus far.
The Lakers will head to Milwaukee on Saturday for the second night of a back-to-back to finish their five-game road trip. Their win in New Orleans puts them at 2-2 on the trip.