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Lakers confident and ready for rematch: ‘We’re not ducking smoke’

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The Los Angeles Lakers were never going to duck the Denver smoke.

They heard the chatter over the 48 hours leading into the No. 7 vs. No. 8 Play-In Tournament game between them and the New Orleans Pelicans. They heard that they should purposely lose to avoid playing the No. 2 seed Nuggets. The defending champs swept the season series with the Lakers and have won eight straight games against them overall dating back to January 2023.

As a result, a handful of national pundits suggested the Lakers would be better off losing Tuesday and taking their chances trying to win on Friday at home against either the No. 9 Sacramento Kings or the No. 10 Golden State Warriors (the Kings ended up advancing) — risking their season ending if they lost — and then playing the No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.

But that was never a consideration for the Lakers, who have won 12 of 15 games and are brimming with confidence. They planned for Tuesday’s game against the Pelicans as if their season was on the line — and they came out and played like it.

The result was a 110-106 win, a victory that elevated Los Angeles to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and set up a rematch with their Rocky Mountain foes in the first round. Game 1 is Saturday night in Denver.

Instead of running from the challenge that has stumped the Lakers for over a year, they’re running toward it.

“If they beat us, they beat us,” Anthony Davis told The Athletic of the Lakers’ mindset versus Denver. “We’re not ducking the smoke.”

The Lakers had several opportunities to fold on Tuesday, as they blew an 18-point second-half lead and were suddenly in a tied game with two minutes left. The Pelicans outscored them 40-22 from the 5:31 mark of the third quarter to the 1:58 mark of the fourth quarter to tie the score at 99. All five starters played at least 32 minutes, with the group appearing gassed down the stretch as they struggled to get stops and generate high-percentage offensive looks.

LeBron James (23 points on 6-for-20 shooting, nine rebounds and nine assists) and Davis (20 points on 6-for-16 shooting, 15 rebounds and three blocks) combined for rare off-shooting nights. Davis battled through back spasms that caused him to miss layups and limited his mobility defensively. That allowed Zion Williamson to dominate with downhill attacks for one of the best games of his career in his postseason debut, scoring 40 points and grabbing 11 rebounds before exiting in the final minutes with what The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported was a hamstring injury.

But the Lakers dug in defensively and made several crucial offensive plays over the final two minutes — most notably D’Angelo Russell’s corner 3-pointer in front of the Pelicans’ bench off an Austin Reaves drive-and-kick and Davis’ offensive rebound and subsequent free throws after being fouled — to survive and advance to the playoffs. Russell had 21 points and six assists, and Reaves posted 16 points, five rebounds and six assists.

LeBron James, Lakers hold off Pelicans in Play-In Tournament

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After a disastrous loss to the Los Angeles Lakers to close their regular season, the New Orleans Pelicans sought redemption in the opening game of the NBA Play-In Tournament on Tuesday. Instead of redemption, the Pels got a high-intensity affair that ended in a 110-106 loss after star Zion Williamson’s 40-point game and early exit.

With the win, the Lakers earned a meeting with the defending champion Nuggets in Denver on Saturday in the first round of the playoffs. The Pelicans will host the Sacramento Kings — who knocked off the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday — in an elimination matchup Friday.

LeBron James scored a team-high 23 points, to go along with nine assists and nine rebounds. Lakers D’Angelo Russell, who scored 21 points and added seven assists, was also instrumental in the victory, shooting 5 of 11 from 3. Former Pelican Anthony Davis put up 20 points and notched a game-high 15 rebounds.

Williamson, whose 40 points paced both teams, also finished with 11 rebounds and five assists. He walked to the locker room in the final minutes of the game with what Pelicans coach Willie Green later described as left leg soreness.

But with Williamson, the Pelicans shook off their Sunday sluggishness with a back-and-forth night. They carried a 10-point lead into the early seconds of the second quarter, but Los Angeles found its momentum before the break and took a 10-point lead into halftime. From there, the Lakers kept building in the third as they continued to limit CJ McCollum (nine points total) and Brandon Ingram (11 points), who looked off after playing in his second game back after missing the previous 12 games with a knee injury.

The Pelicans reduced their 18-point deficit to seven points entering the fourth quarter, and found a spark from there, pushing to within two points after a 9-0 run that included a Williamson block on James that led to a Jose Alvarado 3. Alvarado then assisted Williamson on a monster dunk to tie the game 93-93, but the Lakers ultimately put the game away after Williamson’s shock exit with just over three minutes left.

Lakers get past the Pels to secure the No. 7 seed in the West!

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