With a recent three-game losing streak now in their rearview mirror, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to make it three victories in a row when they hosted the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday. The Pelicans came into this matchup with a dismal 19-43 record, but they had won five of their last eight games, and they proved to be a pesky opponent on this night.
After trailing by six early, the Lakers built a decent lead in the second quarter thanks to 11 unanswered points, but a flurry of turnovers resulted in them losing that lead and trailing by two heading into the fourth quarter. They then asserted themselves with a 14-0 run in the final period, and that was enough for them to end up with a 110-101 win, as they continued to do a fantastic job of winning games that have been competitive in the final five minutes.
This wasn’t exactly a pretty offensive outing for either team. Both squads had a lot of trouble hitting from long distance, and they combined for 41 turnovers. But Los Angeles capitalized on the Pelicans’ 22 turnovers by logging 28 fast-break points, and it had seven more rebounds and seven more free throw attempts.
The team now has a 37-24 record and is still in sixth place in the Western Conference, and it is half a game behind the fifth-place Denver Nuggets. It will face the Nuggets in Colorado on Thursday.
Marcus Smart: B-plus
Smart was very active defensively and aggressively went after the ball on that end of the floor, which resulted in him getting four steals and three blocks. Offensively, he scored 10 points on 3-of-9 from the field and 2-of-6 from 3-point range, and he hit a big trey with 1:34 left in the fourth quarter to put L.A. up by seven points.
When Smart took the ball away on defense, he helped create transition opportunities, which allowed him to register seven assists, and he also chipped in three rebounds and had no turnovers in 30 minutes.
Deandre Ayton: B/B-plus
Ayton blew a number of easy opportunities near the rim in this game early on when he either got his shots blocked or the ball knocked away from him. But he kept his head in the game and ended up scoring 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. In the last few games, the Lakers have been doing a better job of getting him the ball in scoring position early.
He also grabbed eight rebounds, blocked two shots and had one assist in 25 minutes.
Austin Reaves: D
Reaves, for much of this game, simply couldn’t get his shots to fall. He missed each of his first eight shot attempts, and he didn’t make his first field goal until the 4:11 mark of the third quarter. The guard also committed five turnovers, as the Pelicans cut off his driving angles to the basket and made him play in congested quarters.
He did, however, make four of his last six shot attempts, and he hit back-to-back treys during L.A.’s 14-0 fourth-quarter run. Reaves ended up with 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in 37 minutes.
He has now gone six straight games without reaching the 20-point mark after coming into this game averaging 24.1 points a game on the season.
LeBron James: B-plus
James was energetic in this game, and he made a noticeable impact whenever he asserted himself. He single-handedly accounted for an 11-0 Lakers run early in the second quarter by scoring the Lakers’ first nine points of the period and then throwing an alley-oop pass to Ayton for a dunk to help them establish a lead.
After scoring 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the first half, James was quiet afterward. But he finished with 21 points on 8-of-12 from the field, seven rebounds, seven assists and two blocks, although he did commit five turnovers.
Luka Doncic: B-plus
Doncic turned in a solid game, even though he was a little less efficient than he usually is. He shot 10-of-22 overall and 3-of-10 from downtown to score 27 points, and he also helped out with 10 rebounds, seven assists and one block. But he also had seven turnovers. Turnovers have been a problem for him, although this was the first time in nearly a month he had at least four turnovers in one contest.
Jaxson Hayes: B-plus
Hayes got 23 minutes of playing time in this game, and he responded with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, six rebounds, two blocks and one assist.
Luke Kennard: B-plus
Kennard continued to be a spark plug offensively off the bench with nine points on 3-of-5 overall shooting and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, plus two rebounds and one assist in 21 minutes.
Jake LaRavia: C
This was another quiet game for LaRavia, and he didn’t get as much playing time as he usually does. He was on the court for 14 minutes, and he scored five points on 2-of-4 shooting, to go along with two rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Rui Hachimura: D-minus
Hachimura has been struggling to hit his shots since the All-Star break. He missed all four of his attempts on Tuesday, and he ended up with two points and two rebounds in 19 minutes.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers player grades: L.A. pushes past Pelicans for third straight win
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
