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The Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from their March 12 defeat to the New York Knicks with an impressive victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on March 14, which saw the purple and gold come out of the gates hot.
During the first quarter of play, the Lakers shot 9-of-14 from deep and 13-of-23 from the field, as they put up an impressive 39 first-quarter points. When speaking to the media following the game, Herb Jones discussed how the Lakers’ impressive shot-making affected his team’s defensive energy for the rest of the contest.
“I think kinda let their shot-making dictate how hard we played defensively,” Jones Said And it does make it tough if you’re flying around for your brothers on defense, and they keep hitting shots.”
The Lakers have now won five of their last eight games and find themselves occupying the 10th seed in the Western Conference, the final seeding place for the play-in tournament. However, with 13 games remaining, there is still plenty of time for the Lakers to continue climbing the conference standings as they try to secure the sixth seed to directly enter the postseason without the need for the play-in.
D’Angelo Russell Heaps Praise on Anthony Davis
After two sluggish games, Anthony Davis broke out of his mini-funk to dominate the Pelicans, ending the contest with 35 points, 17 rebounds, and 1 assist on 61.1% shooting from the field and 1-of-2 shooting from the perimeter.
During his post-game press conference, Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell heaped praise on the superstar forward and the impact he has on both ends of the floor.
“To answer your question, AD is a monster,” Russell said, “He continues to dominate the games. From defensively or offensively, tonight, he did a little bit of both. So, he continues to help our team. And then our supporting cast was amazing as well. I think that’s what got us over the hump.”
Anthony Davis is Impressed With Malik Beasley
Against the Pelicans, Malik Beasley found his rhythm from deep, shooting 7-of-12 from three-point range en route to a 24-point performance. Following the Lakers’ latest victory, Anthony Davis discussed Beasley’s impact and the value he brings to the team as a shooter.
“After shootaround today, he got a lot of threes up, and it showed,” Davis said, “He’s very hard on himself, and as far as shooting the basketball, he never wants to miss two in a row. And he came out on fire. Anytime he’s making shots, it just opens the floor up more for all our guys to get to the basket. Even when he’s missing, I mean, you still got to respect him as a shooter. But when he’s making, he gets very hot, and the rim gets very big for him.”
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Herb Jones Issues Statement After Being Bested by Lakers