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Lakers outlast Pelicans to clinch No. 7 seed,…

Saturday, July 27th 2024

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Lakers outlast Pelicans to clinch No. 7 seed, will face Nuggets in first round

LeBron James has 23 points, Anthony Davis has 20 and D’Angelo Russell hits a critical 3-pointer late as the Lakers hold on for a 110-106 play-in victory. Game 1 against the Nuggets is Saturday night in Denver.

Lakers star LeBron James shoots over New Orleans Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr., left, during the second half of their play-in tournament game on Tuesday night in New Orleans. James had 23 points, nine assists and nine rebounds, and the Lakers secured the No. 7 seed with a 110-106 victory. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Lakers star LeBron James shoots over New Orleans Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr., left, during the second half of their play-in tournament game on Tuesday night in New Orleans. James had 23 points, nine assists and nine rebounds, and the Lakers secured the No. 7 seed with a 110-106 victory. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
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By | kprice@scng.com
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Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell reacts after making a 3-point shot during the second half of their play-in tournament game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night in New Orleans. The Lakers won, 110-106. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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NEW ORLEANS — After their “Game 1” victory on Sunday, the Lakers expected a more aggressive and physical version of the New Orleans in Tuesday’s play-in tournament matchup.

And they withstood New Orleans’ best punches, beating the Pelicans, 110-106, to clinch the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and secure a spot in a first-round series against the second-seeded defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets – a rematch of last season’s conference finals.

Game 1 is Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PT in Denver.

“Tonight we showcased what we were able to do both offensively and defensively,” said Lakers star LeBron James, who had 23 points, nine assists and nine rebounds in the win. “We’ve got a good group going right now, good rotation, good plan and guys are coming in ready to go.”

The Pelicans “threw some heavy blows at us,” said Lakers coach Darvin Ham, whose team enters the playoffs having won 12 of 15 games. “They kept swinging. We kept fighting back.

“It revealed a lot about us and what we’re made of,” he added. “That’s a helluva team we just got past.”

Even with James once again leading the Lakers with a strong two-way performance despite struggling with his shot (6-for-20 shooting) and taking on the Zion Williamson defensive assignment for the second straight game, the Lakers had to find other ways to pull out the victory with their star duo struggling to get them across the finish line.

And the Lakers’ starting backcourt delivered.

D’Angelo Russell (21 points on 7-for-14 shooting to go with six assists) came up with a steal in the clutch that prevented the Pelicans from taking a late lead. A few possessions later, Austin Reaves drove into the paint and kicked to Russell for a corner 3-pointer, giving the Lakers a 104-100 advantage with 50.3 seconds left – a lead they held on to for the remainder of the game.

Russell’s defender, second-year wing Dyson Daniels, helped off of Russell in the strongside corner on Reaves’ drive – which defenses typically don’t want to do – and didn’t recover in time to contest Russell’s shot.

“Young mistake from a young player,” Russell told the Southern California ɫ̳ Group. “That’s all it takes to lose a game. He’ll learn from it.”

Like James, Anthony Davis struggled to find his offensive rhythm, scoring 20 points on 6-for-16 shooting to go with 15 rebounds and three blocked shots.

But Davis made all four of his free throws in the final 15 seconds to prevent the Pelicans from making the comeback. James went 10 for 10 from the free-throw line and Davis was 8 for 10.

“We’ve just been playing good ball,” James said. “And everybody has been contributing. There hasn’t been many games where me and A.D. shot the ball (like this), I think we were 12 for 36 from the field. But the rest of the guys picked us up. So myself and A.D. was just trying to do everything else that we could.

“A.D. getting offensive rebounds, making free throws down the stretch. I continued to find my guys. Obviously, big-time shot by D-Lo right there in that strong corner by their bench. All-around team win.”

After a strong start from the Pelicans, in which they were ultra-aggressive defensively on the perimeter and sealed off the paint with timely off-ball shifts, the Lakers recovered to take a 60-50 halftime lead.

But New Orleans cut the Lakers’ 18-point third-quarter lead (73-55) to zero, tying the score at 95 with 3:13 remaining after an offensive flurry from Williamson (40 points on 17-for-27 shooting).

But Williamson went to the locker room for the final three minutes, throwing a towel to the floor in disgust as he walked into the tunnel with an apparent left leg injury.

James made a fallaway midrange jumper over Herb Jones to give the Lakers a 99-97 lead, his lone basket of the fourth, with just more than two minutes left.

Trey Murphy III tied the score again at 99-all after hitting a floater.

The Pelicans had the chance to take their first lead since midway through the second after a James turnover, but Russell came up with the steal before Reaves threw an alley-oop to Davis to give the Lakers a 101-99 lead with 1:24 left.

Reaves (16 points, six assists, five rebounds) also made a pair of late free throws late to seal the win for the Lakers.

The Lakers finished 14 for 35 from 3-point range. The Pelicans hit 9 for 29 from deep and Williamson didn’t get a lot of help from the Pelicans’ usual high scorers. Brandon Ingram missed 8 of 12 shots and finished with 11 points. CJ McCollum missed 11 of 15 shots and scored nine.

The Lakers led 75-57 after Rui Hachimura’s layup in the third quarter. But New Orleans got back in the game by outscoring them 19-8 during the final 5:31 of the period.

The Pelicans will face the Sacramento Kings, who eliminated the Golden State Warriors, 118-94, on Tuesday, on Friday with the winner earning the No. 8 seed.

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