The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 110-106 on Tuesday night to advance to the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
The Lakers are currently the seventh seed in the West and will face the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets in the first round.
At one point, the Lakers led by 18 points, but Zion Williamson, who finished the game with a season-high 40 points, made a perfect alley-oop feed from Jose Alvarado, and less than four minutes later, the Lakers were tied at 93 points. did. To play.
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LeBron James, No. 23 of the Los Angeles Lakers, watches a game against the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2024 Play-In Tournament at Smoothie King Center on April 16, 2024 in New Orleans. (Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)
Williamson tied it again with 3:13 to play with a floater in the lane, but he was injured while scoring, and the home team didn’t want that. The injury was clearly serious enough to require further testing, so he returned to the locker room and slammed his towel on the floor.
There was no word throughout the rest of the match as to what exactly Williamson was working on.
With Williamson out, the Lakers and Pelicans went back and forth on the scoreboard, with LeBron James missing two free throws and then the Pelicans responding with a Larry Nance Jr. dunk. James immediately hit a fadeaway two-pointer to turn things around and give the Lakers a four-point lead.
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Nance missed one of two free throws, making the score 101-100 with less than a minute left, and when Austin Reeves kicked one for a wide-open three, D’Angelo Russell His veins froze. With 51.1 points remaining and the Lakers holding a four-point lead, he sank the shot, turned around and said something to the Pelicans’ bench.
After CJ McCollum made a mid-range jumper to cut the Lakers’ lead to two points, the Lakers looked to kill time with James up top. When a fadeaway shot missed the rim, Davis fought through traffic in the paint, grabbed the rebound and was fouled along the way.
Davis made both of the biggest free throws of the night against his old team.
On April 16, 2024, No. 1 Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans drives with No. 12 Taurean Prince and No. 23 LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers in the first half of a game. Orléans. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Needing an answer, McCollum again on the other side of the floor made a driving layup with 11 seconds left. McCollum would immediately foul Reaves, and the Pelicans would just hope he missed the free throw and gave them a chance.
But Reeves took them both down, and although Nance took a shot at the other end with three seconds left, Davis made two more free throws. They made 11 consecutive free throws to end the game. This is what good teams do to shut out their opponents.
Despite the loss, the Pelicans still have a chance to become the eighth and final seed in the West. They will face the winner of the Golden State Warriors-Sacramento Kings game later Tuesday night.
Looking at the stat sheet, all five Lakers starters scored in double figures, but none were better than James. James shot 6-of-20 for 23 and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. He also had nine rebounds and nine assists, but fell just short of a triple-double.
Russell had a great night from the field, scoring 21 points while shooting an even 50% (7-of-14), including 5-of-11 from 3-point range. Davis had a double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds, Reeves had 16 points and Rui Hachimura had 13 points.
Los Angeles Lakers No. 1 D’Angelo Russell celebrates during the first half of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center on April 16, 2024 in New Orleans. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
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For the Pelicans, Alvarado played a key role off the bench as point guard, totaling 10 points and seven assists. Despite taking some big shots late, McCollum finished with nine points on just 4-of-15 from the floor and 1-of-9 from beyond the basket.
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