A challenging Friday meeting with the defending NBA champions was made even more difficult for New Orleans by its own mistakes. After an excellent start, the Pelicans built a 15-point lead, but turnovers – many of the unforced variety – helped Los Angeles quickly overcome an early deficit. In the second half, a lengthy New Orleans offensive drought bridging the third and fourth quarters put the Lakers ahead by a more than comfortable margin.

IT WAS OVER WHEN…

Lakers cult hero Alex Caruso nailed a right-wing three-pointer, giving the hosts a 96-79 lead with seven-plus minutes remaining. New Orleans led 58-57 at halftime, but only scored 25 points in roughly the first 20 minutes of the latter half.

PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME

Brandon Ingram scored in a variety of creative ways in the first half, whether it was on circuitous drives to the basket, mid-range jumpers or bombs from the three-point arc. Ingram’s 17 points prior to intermission staked New Orleans to a halftime edge, but he was held to three after the break. Zion Williamson powered his way to double-digit points in both halves.

BY THE NUMBERS

55-37: Los Angeles won the second half by an 18-point margin after its one-point halftime deficit.

15/37: Lakers three-point shooting, led by 4/6 accuracy from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Revisiting three keys to victory

NEXT MAN UP, PART II

With starting point guard Lonzo Ball missing a second straight game, neither Nickeil Alexander-Walker nor Kira Lewis repeated their major impact from two days earlier, but circumstances also prevented them from being on the floor nearly as much. Alexander-Walker’s foul trouble limited him to just 12 minutes in the first three quarters, even though he was making his third NBA start. Lewis didn’t enter the game until the second half, with Eric Bledsoe returning from injury and serving as Pelicans second-unit point guard.

ELITE BOARD BATTLE

The top two rebounding teams in the NBA percentage-wise squared off Friday. No. 1-ranked New Orleans edged Los Angeles in boards by a 47-44 margin, essentially a draw and therefore a much smaller factor than turnovers in dictating the outcome.

GET TO THE FOUL LINE

It was an odd performance, because the Pelicans shot threes well (at least for a half-plus), but rarely got to the foul line, the opposite of what’s happened in most of their 11 games this season. New Orleans entered Friday fourth in the NBA in free throw attempts, but took a season-low eight vs. the Lakers.