Down by 14 with less than six minutes remaining, D’Angelo Russell knocked down a fadeaway that sparked some hot shooting in his teammates.
Suddenly, after a wild 16-2 run, the Lakers found themselves tied at 97 with two minutes left. However, the offensive magic stalled out from there, as they would not score another point in a 105-97 loss to New Orleans.
Baskets by Brandon Ingram and Nick Young trimmed the deficit to seven when Russell — who had missed all eight of his 3-point attempts at the time — sunk a pair of clutch triples.
Julius Randle then tied the game by going 1-of-2 at the free throw line, but that would be the Lakers’ last score of the night.
All-Star Game MVP Anthony Davis pulled up from mid-range and connected to end Los Angeles’ run, and Russell badly missed on an airballed attempt for a go-ahead 3-pointer.
Instead, it was L.A. native Jrue Holiday who struck from deep, as his triple proved to be the game’s dagger. The Pelicans (25-38) hit a few free throws in the final minute to conclude the contest with eight unanswered points.
“I thought that they did a great job of giving themselves a chance at fighting back into the game,” head coach Luke Walton said. “But we made some crucial mistakes int he last minute or so.”
Meanwhile, Russell echoed his coach’s longterm perspective of keeping day-to-day improvement the goal at this point in the team’s development, rather than winning individual games.
“I feel like it’s not about the losses or the score at the end of the day,” Russell said. “I feel — like Coach said — it’s our effort for the whole game.”
The Lakers (19-44) fell to 0-5 since the All-Star Break while simultaneously handing New Orleans its first win since trading for superstar center DeMarcus Cousins.
The frontcourt tandem of Davis and Cousins proved to be a tough night’s work for the Lakers’ bigs, as Davis finished with 31 points and nine rebounds, while Cousins provided 26 points and 15 rebounds.
The game boiled down to wasted opportunities for the Lakers and easy points for the Pelicans.
L.A. committed 25 turnovers — a dozen more than its visitors — while New Orleans enjoyed a 24-11 advantage in made free throws, as Davis alone hit as many as the Lakers.
However, the purple and gold did give themselves a chance, particularly when they opened up the second quarter on a 12-0 burst led by Corey Brewer, which resulted in a 32-26 lead.
They mostly maintained that advantage, heading to halftime up by four thanks primarily to Nick Young, who scored 14 of his team-high 19 points in the first half.
But L.A.’s once-hot shooting was nowhere to be found in the third quarter, which saw it shoot just 5-of-22 from the field for 14 points. New Orleans doubled that scoring total to take a 10-point lead into the final frame.
Russell — who ended with 16 points and seven assists — led the final charge, as the run ended when Cousins fouled out to send Randle to the line with 1:55 left.
Despite the absence of the three-time All-Star, the Lakers could not take advantage in a quarter hampered by turnovers and an inability to stop the Pelicans from dominating the offensive glass.
These deficiencies wasted the Lakers’ scorching shooting (9-of-14 in the fourth) and the Pelicans’ frigid attempts (7-of-24).
Notes
Ivica Zubac (right quad contusion) did not play. … Larry Nance Jr. suffered a sprained right wrist and had X-rays that returned negative. He will be re-evaluated on Monday. … Jrue Holiday had 20 points and 12 assists for New Orleans. … Brandon Ingram scored 16 points, while Julius Randle had 12 rebounds and six assists. … The Lakers shot 45.8 percent from the field, which was 5.4 percent better than the Pelicans. … A sold-out crowd of 18,997 packed Staples Center.