NEW ORLEANS — One night after the Lakers were clicking on all cylinders in their most impressive performance away from Crypto.com Arena, they looked like a team struggling to find answers on Saturday night against the New Orleans Pelicans.
A team struggling to find its collective energy from the jump after beating the Spurs in San Antonio on Friday night.
A team struggling to find an offensive rhythm – especially with their rotation adjusting again because of injuries.
A team struggling to keep the Pelicans, who were also shorthanded, off the offensive glass for significant parts of Saturday.
But in the end, the Lakers overcame the lulls associated with playing on the second night of a back-to-back, scraping together a 102-99 win over the Pelicans to put them at 9-4 on the season.
Anthony Davis (31 points, 14 rebounds) and rookie forward Dalton Knecht (career-high 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting, 5 of 10 on 3-pointers), who made his second consecutive start and third of the season, gave the Lakers the boost they needed in the third to overcome a 10-point halftime deficit after trailing by 15 in the second quarter. Davis (15 points) and Knecht (11) combined for 26 of the Lakers’ 29 third-quarter points.
But it was LeBron James (21 points, seven rebounds, five assists) providing the Lakers with the late-game shotmaking they needed.
After missing his first five 3-pointers and struggling with his shot for most of the night, the 39-year-old James knocked down a catch-and-shoot to put the Lakers up 98-97 with less than two minutes left.
And one night after playing a more off-ball role in crunch time, James controlled the game late, knocking down another 3 out of a pick and roll to put the Lakers up 101-97 with 37 seconds left.
James missed a pull-up two-pointer on the Lakers’ ensuing possession after Jeremiah Robinson-Earl made a layup to cut the Lakers’ deficit to two. Max Christie backtapped an offensive rebound so the Lakers could maintain possession.
With the Pelicans forced to foul late, James split a pair of free throws and Knecht made a pair to seal the win for the Lakers.
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The Pelicans were led by Brandon Ingram’s 32 points, eight rebounds, four rebounds and three steals. New Orleans was without Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, Trey Murphy, CJ McCollum, Herbert Jones, Jordan Hawkins and Jose Alvarado.
The Lakers will have a couple of days off before kicking off a three-game homestand with an NBA Cup Group Play matchup against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.
They opened Group Play with the win over the Spurs to stay undefeated in NBA Cup play dating back to last season’s inaugural tournament.