The Los Angeles Lakers kicked off Sunday with one of their best offensive performances of the year. Luka Doncic made sure the New Orleans Pelicans never had a real chance to catch up. Doncic scored 20 points in the first quarter and finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists, leading the Lakers to their seventh straight win with a 133-121 victory over the Pelicans.
With LeBron James sitting out to rest his sore left foot, the Lakers leaned on Doncic and Austin Reaves for most of their scoring. Reaves put up 33 points and eight assists, shooting 9-for-15 from the field and 11-for-12 on free throws. Deandre Ayton added 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Rui Hachimura and the rest of the bench helped the Lakers earn their 13th win in the last 15 games.
The Lakers started strong against the Pelicans, putting up a season-high 46 points in the first quarter and building a 20-point halftime lead with 77 points, matching their best half this year. New Orleans shot 62.5% in the third quarter and nearly staged a comeback, but the Lakers’ star players created great shots, the team excelled at the free-throw line, and their defense blocked 10 shots to secure the win.
Austin Reaves Delivered Another All-NBA Performance
Reaves’ emergence as an All-NBA player is becoming even more apparent throughout Los Angeles’ current winning streak of seven games, with a highlight Sunday night of scoring 33 points (along with eight assists and five rebounds) in only 15 shots taken. In addition to hitting 4 of 7 attempts from behind the arc, Reaves was excellent at attacking the rim and converting 11 of his 12 free throw attempts.
Another major area where Reaves made an impact was as a playmaker. In addition to his eight assists, he contributed to the overall success of the Lakers’ offense, which finished the game with a total of 26 assists and an excellent overall shooting percentage of 48% from the field. He also had only one turnover, resulting in an outstanding 8:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Reaves took full advantage of the Pelicans’ attempts to defend him with bigger wings and switched defenses, as he exploited all of those mismatches while running pick and rolls with DeAndre Ayton, and kept finding his way to the free-throw line, which helped Los Angeles end the contest with an impressive +18 free-throw differential.
Luka Doncic Dictated the Game
Luka Doncic got hot quickly, recording 20 points in the first quarter, which was almost as much as what the whole New Orleans Pelicans team achieved (27). At the end of the game, he had 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists, shooting 9-of-22 from the field, 4-of-12 from three points, and 12-of-14 from the free-throw line. Elite? Of course, and we are used to it.
Looking a bit deeper, Doncic’s rebounding abilities gave Los Angeles the upper hand (46-40) on the boards, and his offensive rebounds afforded Los Angeles multiple second-chance opportunities. Doncic’s playmaking also had a significant impact on the outcome. He guided the Lakers to a plus-8 advantage over the Pelicans when he was on the floor, and his driving and kicking game provided the Lakers with 15 made three-pointers.
With LeBron James not playing, Doncic was able to control the pace and tempo of the game and the spacing of the floor, which provided the opportunity for the Lakers to prevent the Pelicans from getting into any offensive rhythm.
Deandre Ayton Anchored The Paint
Ayton had a standout game against the Pelicans, finishing with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks. He was efficient, making 7 of 9 shots and all eight free throws. His rim protection mattered, too, since LA had 10 blocks to New Orleans’ 1, and Ayton was responsible for nearly half of those.
Ayton controlled the boards, grabbing nine defensive rebounds, and helped keep the Pelicans to just eight offensive rebounds on the night. His impact is shown through a +14 plus-minus, indicating that the LA Lakers were very successful when he was on the floor. Offensively, Ayton had success against a New Orleans team without Zion Williamson, forcing them to rely on Derik Queen and Yves Missi.
He shot 7-9 in the paint and scored 8 points from the free-throw line, showing some of the physicality and aggression the Lakers sometimes lack. His good screening and roll to the basket created mismatches and forced New Orleans’ defense to collapse, giving teammates open three-point shots.
The Lakers finished with 46 points in the paint, which is about average, but they did it efficiently and kept the defense from focusing too much on the perimeter. For Ayton, the key is to keep scoring easy points near the rim, stay efficient, and bring energy.
