LOS ANGELES – By design, the Lakers don’t need these type of shooting performances to win most nights.
However, when the threes fall the way they did Friday night against the Pelicans (14 makes at a 48.3% clip), the purple and gold are nearly unstoppable.
Having one of their stars close to a 50-burger didn’t hurt either.
Anthony Davis went off for 46 points against his former team and even found his range from beyond the arc, shooting 3-of-5 from long distance in the 123-113 win.
Oh yeah, he was also perfect at the free throw line (13/13) and added 13 rebounds and three steals.
For context, AD also had 41 points and nine boards in New Orleans on November 27th in the first meeting between these two teams this season.
And just like last time, he wasn’t alone as Danny Green had set the tone early with five bombs in the opening quarter.
His 6th three-pointer of the night was essentially the dagger that put the game away – coming courtesy of a great LeBron James screen. He also got a potential 7th one erased by a fingernail on a shot clock violation.
‘Deadshot’ finished the night with 25 points, one of four players in double digits.
“My teammates did a great job of finding me”, Green said. “Bron gets to the paint spraying out, and just hit me in the corner. I get easy, wide-open open, rhythm shots in the corner, and once you see one or two go in it’s easy to let the next ones go confidently.”
Green also contributed five boards and five assists, helping the Lakers to improve to 19-0 against teams below .500.
The game quickly turned into a shootout, with L.A. putting up 74 points in the first half.
James (17 points) was once again the master puppeteer of the offense, responsible for 15 of the 29 assists for the purple and gold.
The third quarter saw L.A. extend the lead to a game-high 24 points, but the fourth had a similar dynamic to the Phoenix game on Wednesday.
The Lakers were outscored by 12 in the final period with the young Pelicans in full comeback mode. However, Frank Vogel sent the starters back in the and disaster was averted.
“We have to do a better of job of staying focused for the full 48,” Green said, adding that it’s a challenge they hope to meet by ‘April, May, and June’.
At 28-7 with a 3.5-game lead over the second-best team in the Western Conference, the Lakers have plenty of time to clean that up.