Lakers roll to victory over Pelicans on Friday
LOS ANGELES – D’Angelo Russell scored 30 points, Austin Reaves added 27 and the Los Angeles Lakers rode a spectacular 87-point first half to a 139122 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.
LeBron James had 21 points and 14 assists, and Rui Hachimura scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half while the Lakers put on an offensive masterclass in their fourth victory in five games. Anthony Davis added 20 points as Los Angeles
dominated on the second night of a back-to-back set, surging ahead with a 51-point second quarter and staying in front throughout the second half.
“That just shows what we can do as a team offensively,” Reaves said. “It’s just playing the game the right way. When we do that, everybody gets a better feel and gets a better rhythm and settles into it that way.”
Russell was the centerpiece in his return from a one-game injury absence, hitting six 3-pointers and adding five assists while the Lakers snapped New Orleans’ four-game winning streak.
The Lakers led 87-74 at halftime after tying a franchise record with 51 points in the second quarter, shredding New Orleans’ defense in their most prolific half of the season and the second highestscoring first half in franchise history. With Russell’s 21 points leading the way, all five starters scored at least 12 while Los Angeles hit 11 3-pointers and 67.4% of its shots overall.
“D-Lo had it going,” Davis said. “Rui made plays. Any time we’re able to get stops in the paint, transition and play fast and share the basketball, offense starts to click and we can score 51 in a quarter.”
Zion Williamson had 30 points and nine rebounds, and Brandon Ingram added 22 points for the Pelicans, who split two games in downtown Los Angeles to begin their four-game road trip.
“We just didn’t have a physical defensive presence tonight,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “I thought we started the game well, but that second quarter got away from us. Fifty-one points, that’s a lot to overcome against a team that’s this good. They made some shots, and we helped some with a lack of physicality on their end.”