National Basketball Association
New Orleans 96, L.A. Lakers 80
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Officials:
#56 Mark Ayotte, #49 Tom Washington, #53 Gediminas Petraitis
Attendance:
16268
By SportsDirect Inc.
Pelicans 96, Lakers 80: Anthony Davis returned from a one-game absence and finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and four blocks as New Orleans beat visiting Los Angeles for a franchise-best fourth straight time.
Tyreke Evans contributed 19 points and backcourt mate Eric Gordon finished with 17 points and a season-high 10 assists for New Orleans, which moved back to .500 for the 17th time this season. Quincy Pondexter added 12 points in a reserve role for the Pelicans.
Kobe Bryant returned after resting the previous two games and scored 14 points on 6-for-14 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds in 30 minutes, but departed to the locker room with about a minute left. Jordan Hill led the way with 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who lost their season-high sixth straight game
The Pelicans reclaimed the lead on Pondexter's basket at the third-quarter buzzer and then scored the first nine points of the fourth as the Lakers missed their first seven shots, adding up to a 10-point advantage. Lakers guard Nick Young sank a 3-pointer to end the field-goal drought at just over five minutes to start the final quarter, but New Orleans didn’t let the Lakers build any momentum.
Young’s three-point play capped an 8-0 run that gave the Lakers their biggest lead at 42-33 with 4:48 left in the opening half, but the Pelicans stormed back and eventually went up by five with 3:12 remaining in the third quarter on a three-point play by Evans following Bryant’s turnover off a behind-the-back pass. The teams continued to trade leads in the third with Pondexter converting a layup at the buzzer to put New Orleans back on top 69-68.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Pelicans played their fifth straight game without starting PG Jrue Holiday and learned Wednesday they’ll be without their third-leading scorer and leader in assists for another 2-4 weeks because of a stress reaction in his lower-right leg. … The Los Angeles reserves outscored the opponent's bench players for the 11th straight game, 34-24. … Hill matched his career high with his 15th double-double of the season.
Top Game Performances
L.A. Lakers |
|
New Orleans |
Jordan Hill 15 |
Scoring |
Anthony Davis 29 |
Wesley Johnson 4 |
Assists |
Eric Gordon 10 |
Jordan Hill 13 |
Rebounds |
Omer Asik 10 |
Wayne Ellington 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Anthony Davis 7 |
Jeremy Lin 4 |
Steals |
Anthony Davis 3 |
Kobe Bryant 1 |
Blocks |
Anthony Davis 4 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
L.A. Lakers
|
80 |
36.4 |
6-20 |
18-21 |
16 |
41 |
4 |
12 |
18 |
New Orleans
|
96 |
45.8 |
3-16 |
17-21 |
21 |
45 |
5 |
8 |
15 |
Upcoming Games
-
New Orleans will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Pelicans have a W/L % of .238 after a win and .762 after a loss.
-
L.A. Lakers will play their next game on the road against San Antonio. The Lakers have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .258 after a loss.