The New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 20-point halftime deficit to stun the Los Angeles Lakers and move ahead of them in the standings.
The Pelicans have been building their identity around their defense this season, and it was the reason they were able to come back last night. Herbert Jones led the way with six steals and it was his 4th-quarter defense on LeBron that was the difference in the game, as he made it tough for LBJ to even catch the ball. There were far too many Lakers’ jerseys in the first few rows and it was a thing of beauty to watch them stand there stunned at the end of the game.
Thanks to a 41-point third quarter, the Pelicans stunned the Lakers 116-108 in a pivotal contest in the Western Conference play-in race.
"We could possibly see one of those teams again," Green said. They start a four-game road trip Wednesday against the Trail Blazers in Portland. The game after that? "It shows that we believe in each other," Ingram said. But just as they did in Los Angeles on Feb. 27, the Pelicans used a huge third quarter to shift the momentum. Murphy scored 16 of those in the third quarter as New Orleans started its comeback. His size, his strength, his ability to shoot over the top of guys. "It's good to have him back, No. 1," Green said. "But we have to regroup, we have to find a way to beat Dallas and get some wins down the stretch here. "We were down and facing adversity in that moment when LeBron was getting everything he wanted. "We were kind of all over the place. This was a big game," Vogel said. "It hurts.
The Lakers are just now one game ahead of the Spurs for No. 10 in the West.
If the Lakers were to fall behind San Antonio in the standings, the Pelicans would have a far greater chance of keeping that pick. The Pelicans torched the Lakers for 41 points in the third quarter and wound up winning 116-108 behind a stellar all-around offensive effort. They entered Sunday's matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans a half game ahead of their Western Conference rivals for the No. 9 seed in the standings.
Brandon Ingram and the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday evening in Louisiana.
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They are a half-game behind the No. 9 New Orleans Pelicans (32-43) for home court advantage in the single-elimination play-in game, and they are one game ahead ...
Steph Curry has been out for a bit, which has a lot to do with their struggles; while Kerr might look for rest for some of his veterans, Curry might also need to get in rhythm again before the playoffs. It’s hard to see him come back this week based on where his recovery has been reported so far, but any games the Lakers can get him back could be huge as the season winds down. COOLING DOWN: It’s not exactly fair to pick on Austin Reaves, who has played as competently as one could hope for as an undrafted rookie and has been scrappy on the defensive end. It’s the team’s last home game, and the Thunder are tanking with half the roster on the injury report on any given night (Josh Giddey and Lu Dort are among those out for the season). Phoenix has long since clinched the top overall seed in the West (and has locked up home-court through the NBA Finals). The Suns have a way of just churning out wins effortlessly, and perhaps Anthony Davis’ comments a few weeks ago still sting, but in terms of stakes, Phoenix has nothing left to earn. That’s a lot of motivation to win, even though it has been suggested they might prefer to stay at No. 6 against fading Golden State instead of playing the Jazz or Mavericks. The last time the Lakers played Denver, it was the worst loss of the season, one James wound up apologizing for on social media. They are a half-game (and a tiebreaker) behind the ninth-place New Orleans Pelicans (32-43) for home-court advantage in the single-elimination play-in game, and they are one game ahead of the No. 11 San Antonio Spurs (30-44) who are currently out of the play-in tournament. They’re 5-10 in their last 15 games, and Coach Steve Kerr has resorted to changing the starting lineup to figure it out. Denver: The Nuggets sit a game-and-a-half ahead of Minnesota for No. 6, which is the last spot to avoid the play-in tournament. The Pelicans obviously have all the motivation to win this and stay in ninth. If James can play on Thursday, this might be one of the Lakers’ best chances to win on the road down the stretch. HIGH POINT: The start of the week saw the Lakers play as good a game as they ever have without Anthony Davis in Cleveland on Monday. Russell Westbrook was efficient, the Lakers had 34 assists and LeBron James topped it all with a 38-point triple-double.
Puts up 39 points in loss to Pelicans as L.A.'s playoff hopes continue to fade.
The Lakers should be able to win games in this league with James and Westbrook alone. With the type of season James is having, the Lakers should be better than this. Instead, the Lakers lost as they have a lot this season. Both are former league MVPs. You need two stars in this league to win. In the game, James hurt his left ankle, but was able to finish. It’s pretty nasty,” said James to the media in N.O. But, then again, the Lakers don’t play a lick of defense, including James. They had a 20-point advantage at the half. More people think Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo are more likely to win the coveted award. That’s the shocking part in watching this unfold. The Lakers stink at 31-43. Worse, James’ season for the ages has had little to no impact on winning.
All remain true, and it is starting to feel inevitable that the Lakers will miss the playoffs. What's worse: James suffered an ankle injury he described as " ...
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Basketball YouTuber Kenny Beecham has gone viral for noting that the 31-43 Lakers have not once used James' photo in tweets that reveal the final score when ...
The Lakers currently have a one-game lead over the No. 11-seeded Spurs. James’ status is questionable for Tuesday’s game against Dallas after he suffered an ankle injury in the first half of the Pelicans loss. Beecham shared a video of himself to Twitter, explaining a tweet that read: “Told ya. U wonder if he has that in his contract. They not putting LeBron’s pick in a L final score tweet. Also, Anthony Davis was only used for one winning graphic.”
Sunday was a big moving day in the NBA playoff race. The Boston Celtics went from No. 4 to first place in the Eastern Conference (by mere percentage points) ...
- First-round opponent: vs. - First-round opponent: vs. - First-round opponent: vs. - First-round opponent: vs. - First-round opponent: vs. Reminder on how the play-in tournament works: No. 7 plays No. 8 and No. 9 plays No. 10.
Lakers guard Russell Westbrook moved up a couple of spots on the NBA's career scoring list after yet another very good outing on Sunday.
Years later, he faced L.A. in the NBA Finals as a member of the Detroit Pistons, only to fall to Showtime in seven games. If Westbrook continues to be aggressive, efficient and productive as he has been in recent days, perhaps the Lakers will still reach the play-in tournament and possibly even the playoffs. He even played for the Lakers for a brief spell in the late 1970s.