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Last night the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up their four game road trip with a win over the New Orleans Pelicans, 114-110. The Lakers went undefeated on the road going up against the Oklahoma City Thunder (130-127), Memphis Grizzlies (109-108) and San Antonio Spurs (114-104). The Lakers now boast a 16-2 record, the leagues best.
This was Anthony Davis’ first time playing in the Smoothie King Arena since the Pelicans traded him to the Lakers this past summer. Davis showed no remorse last night as he led the team with 41 points, one assist and nine boards. Lakers superstar LeBron James trailed him racking up 29 points, 11 assists and five rebounds. James didn’t only help lead his team to victory, he also became the fourth player to ever score 33,000 career points. According to the NBA, the King now joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Kobe Bryant to reach this milestone. As of now Lakers legend Abdul-Jabbar has the most points with 38,387.
Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans
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Getty ImagesLeBron James #23 and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers struggled to find momentum at the beginning of the game as the Pelicans scored 10 of their first 13 three pointers. The Pelicans outscored the Lakers in the first quarter by 13, 38-25. In the second quarter the Lakers were able to outscore the Pelicans but only by three points, still trailing them at the half, 64-54. The third quarter wasn’t much different as the Lakers still couldn’t catch up to the Pelicans. Going into the fourth quarter the Pelicans were still ahead, 89-79.
It was in the fourth quarter that the Lakers turned up the heat. The Lakers played stellar defense holding their opponent to only 21 points in the fourth quarter. Kyle Kuzma came off the bench and hit a crucial three-pointer to earn the last lead of the game. With less than seven seconds left in the game JJ Redick had a chance to steal the lead when he caught the ball at the corner three. Reddick pump faked to get a wide open shot but unfortunately missed keeping the Pelicans down, 111-110. With 5.3 seconds left in the game Davis went to the line but missed one of his free throws that would have given the Lakers a three-point lead, 112-110. Davis then stole the ball off an inbound play and was fouled again. He hit both free throws this time, ending the game with a four point lead, 114-110. Jrue Holiday led the Pelicans with 29 points, 12 assists and six boards.
Davis’ Return
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty ImagesAnthony Davis had a game-high 41 points to lead the Lakers to their ninth straight win.
New Orleans fans let Davis know how they felt about his move from the start of the game. Before the National Anthem even started one fan yelled out, “AD’s a sellout!”
Davis was “booed”all game long but he clapped back as he ended the game with 41 points and nine boards.
Kuzma came to Davis’ defense and told reporters, “New Orleans fans should probably boo their own team for letting him get 40 and come back.”
Davis didn’t let the crowd get the best of him and finished the game off strong hitting 3-of-4 free throws in the final 5.3 seconds of the game.
“I just wanted to get the win. It was a great game. We competed, and I think from my perspective, everybody in the world, that’s all they want — a game like that, two good teams going at it. I won’t say tension, but everybody wanted to see. It was fun for me. Had a great time, but most importantly, I was just glad we got the win,” Davis said per ESPN.
The Lakers are now back at home and play the Washington Wizards tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m.
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