With All-Stars for both teams sidelined by injury, Sunday’s Western Conference matchup was a prime opportunity for some of the Lakers’ and Pelicans’ lesser-known players to fill the void created by numerous DNPs. Los Angeles’ cast of backups and unproven players were up to the task, dominating the second half en route to a road victory. Two-way contract guard Alex Caruso set his career high in scoring by the third quarter and finished with 23 points, while Rajon Rondo and JaVale McGee spearheaded the Los Angeles starting five. Six Pelicans reached double figures in scoring, but the hosts were outplayed in the final 24 minutes.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Lakers reserve big Mike Muscala drained a three-pointer with 10-plus minutes left, giving the Lakers a 112-86 lead. New Orleans actually led 62-61 at halftime, but Los Angeles won the third period 44-22 to go up by 21.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
New Orleans had six players score at least 11 points, but center Jahlil Okafor did it in the most efficient fashion, going 7/8 from the field in 26 minutes of action. On a night when the Pelicans lost by 28, Okafor somehow was a wash in plus-minus at 0, while six teammates posted negative-10 or worse in that category. Cheick Diallo contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes, on 5/6 shooting.
FOCUS ON: TURNOVERS
New Orleans has coughed up 21 or more turnovers in seven different games this season, but a whopping five of those instances occurred in March. The Pelicans did a decent job for a segment of the schedule of remaining competitive despite injuries and constantly-shuffling lineups, but in terms of taking care of the ball, it seems like those things have finally caught up to them.
On Sunday, the Pelicans’ 24 turnovers led to 32 points by the Lakers, something Alvin Gentry referenced in his postgame media session.
“They shot the ball extremely well and we didn’t,” Gentry said of the game’s second-half turnaround. “We started trying to play a bit of isolation basketball, which we’re not good at. Our turnovers – you’re not going to win any games where you’re in the 30s as far as points off turnovers. We never got into any kind of rhythm.”
BY THE NUMBERS
57-51: Lakers advantage in bench scoring. The two clubs’ reserves combined for 108 points, which was only 16 fewer than the starters tallied.
15, 11: Points and rebounds for Pelicans reserve Christian Wood, the third straight game he’s scored at least 15 points and grabbed at least nine boards.