The Los Angeles Lakers made shots early and often to take the wind out of anything the New Orleans Pelicans could produce Tuesday night, winning 123-108.
Los Angeles (34-35) started the game on a 14-0 run until New Orleans (33-36) called a timeout with 8:34 left in the first period. Following the timeout, it took the Pelicans until there were nearly five minutes remaining in the opening period to surpass 10 points.
With injuries surrounding both teams – including Los Angeles star Lebron James still being out with a foot injury – Lakers forward Anthony Davis led all scorers with 35 points on 11 of 18 shooting. He also added 17 rebounds for his 32nd double-double of the season, this time coming against his former team.
Los Angeles shooting guard Malik Beasley finished with 24 points after knocking down seven three-pointers in the first half. Despite the starting five each being in double digits for New Orleans, the team as a whole shot 25% from beyond the arc.
“We let their shot-making demoralize us as they came out and made shots early,” Pelicans head coach Willie Green said after the game. “It just came down to them making shots early and us missing a ton of them. The key for us is quality shots.”
While the Pelicans’ offense outscore the Lakers by 20 points in the second half, it was not enough to overcome the damage done in the first half.
New Orleans forward Brandon Ingram had a team-high 22 points in his first game back from injury, while Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III each added 20 points.
The Pelicans will be back on the road this Friday when they take on the Houston Rockets at 7 p.m. CT.
