Pelicans (43-30), Lakers (31-40)
It could’ve been a crushing stretch of New Orleans’ regular season schedule, but the Pelicans turned a potential concern into a major positive. For the third straight night Thursday, New Orleans won the fourth quarter and the game, posting a victory. That ran the Pelicans’ winning streak to four, which pushed them into fourth place in the Western Conference.
Anthony Davis and Rajon Rondo were extremely clutch in the final minutes, helping New Orleans overcome a late deficit. Davis finished with 33 points in 37 minutes, with the Pelicans again trying to keep his workload reasonable, but again needing him to help secure a win. Davis' team finished 4-1 in a stretch of five games in six days at the Smoothie King Center.
New Orleans outscored Los Angeles by a 31-17 margin in the fourth quarter, rallying from what was an 11-point deficit through three periods.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Davis stole a Los Angeles pass just before time expired, with the Lakers trying to find a way to squeeze off a three-point attempt to force overtime. Davis also canned two critical free throws with four seconds remaining, giving the Pelicans their three-point edge.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Rondo scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, coming up with big play after big play to vault New Orleans into the lead. Meanwhile, Davis tallied 10 in that stanza, along with registering three steals. That was key for a Pelicans defense that forced four final-period Lakers turnovers that led to six points at the other end. Los Angeles shot just 6/20 in the decisive quarter. New Orleans was 12/22, including 5/9 by Rondo and 4/7 from Davis.
QUOTES TO NOTE
“You know that’s the worst team to play on the third game (in three days) or the fifth game in six days. The pace that they play with is so unbelievable, and they’re relentless in their pace. So I did say to the guys that the first team that decides to guard a little bit would probably be the team that would have won. I thought in the fourth quarter we really locked in, did a good job, came up with stops and that’s how we won the game.” – Alvin Gentry on playing an up-tempo Lakers team in less than ideal circumstances, but still prevailing
“We’ve got a still tough schedule to go. Pretty sure we moved up (in the standings), but we’ve got, what, nine games left? We’ve got to keep winning games and get to where we want to get so that we can have some advantage in the playoffs.” – Jrue Holiday (26 points, six assists) on the Pelicans’ outlook overall after moving into the No. 4 spot in West entering Friday
“Our execution is a lot better. We know what we are looking for, and then even Rondo just having the ball in his hands. He’s a guy who can read the floor very well. He made great decisions with the ball. So him being in those situations has just been helping us a lot.” – Davis on why New Orleans has been so effective in winning close games this season
“You give me the guys I’ve got, this group of talent, I never feel like we’re out of any game. We stayed poised. We found a way.” – Rondo
BY THE NUMBERS
30-22: New Orleans edge in fast-break points, in a game pitting two of the top three NBA teams in pace. The Lakers entered Thursday No. 1, with the Pelicans two spots lower.
8: Pelicans turnovers, an excellent number in a situation where fatigue theoretically could’ve led to sloppy play and more mistakes.
42/69: Shooting by New Orleans starters. Every starter who logged significant minutes made more than half of his shots, highlighted by Holiday going 12/16.