Pelicans

New Orleans overcame a 16-point second half deficit and led late, but mistakes throughout regulation and poor shooting were too much in the end.

Williamson led the Pelicans with 27 points in 36 minutes of action, while grabbing five rebounds and handing out seven assists. It hit nothing but net, sending the game into overtime and the crowd at Crypto.com Arena into a frenzy. L.A., which entered the game as the NBA's worst offense, closed the half on a 25-7 run. a 116-113 advantage. one more chance at a tie. was able to take it back. [Brandon Ingram](https://www.si.com/nba/pelicans) and Herb Jones appear to be imminent, which should help stabilize things on both ends of the floor and with Green's rotations. And he was right. [Zion](https://www.si.com/nba/pelicans) Williamson, who finished with a two-handed dunk to bring the Pels to within one, 107-108. New Orleans helped make that possible by turning it over 13 times and allowing the Lakers to outscore them both in points in the paint (64-66) and fast break points (17-20); both areas where the Pelicans typically dominate. The Pelicans were able to turn it on offensively in the second half, outscoring the Lakers 67-55, but each time they got close to wresting control of the game away from the home team, L.A. After extending the lead to six on a floater by Trey Murphy III with 5:41 remaining in the half, the Pelicans became engulfed in an avalanche of missed shots, turnovers, and poor defense.

Lonnie Walker, who torched New Orleans for 28 points and five threes, missed a 3-pointer. Dyson Daniels was promptly fouled after grabbing the defensive board ...

For the game, they lost the battles in points in the paint, fast break points and and points off turnovers. Alvarado hit three huge 3-pointers in the second half, posting a line of 15 points, two rebounds and four assists. Daniels entered the game late in the first quarter and made a couple of shots right away. “No matter who steps on that floor, they need to be ready to play. So credit to the Lakers, they did what they needed to do — they beat us in all the categories that we normally win. Credit the Pelicans for nearly pulling out the inconceivable victory though. The Lakers, 1-6. They were coasting on defense, not running a rhythmic offense and the focus was just plain awful. “We did everything we needed to do to put ourselves in a position to win that game. The Pelicans committed 11 turnovers through the first 24 minutes, leading to 17 points for the Lakers. There was no need to offer help to the middle of the floor, as Trey did. Every Laker standing outside of the arc should have been draped with Pelican coverage.

The Los Angeles Lakers entered Wednesday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans ranked dead-last in the NBA in 3-point percentage.

The Pelicans trailed by as many as 16 points in the third quarter. That should have been a death blow for the Lakers, but the Pelicans could not close. In overtime, the Pelicans ran out of steam. Forward Matt Ryan drilled a desperation 3 to tie the game as time expired in regulation. In the first half, the Lakers’ shooting woes continued. They missed 15 of the 21 triples they attempted.