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 Mission accomplished.
Forward Anthony Davis scored 23 points, and point guard Jrue Holiday
added 22 points and eight assists, guiding the Pelicans to a 104-87
win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Sunday night.
The Pelicans (9-10), who were coming off a 120-100 setback to the
Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, snapped a two-game losing
streak. They also were pounded 112-85 by the Golden State Warriors
on Thursday, but they had little trouble sticking it to the Lakers.
"We know what happened last night, and this was the last game of our
road trip, so we really wanted to go home on a good note," said
Holiday, a former UCLA star who grew up a Lakers fan. Holiday
connected on nine of 17 shots, including four of five from beyond
the 3-point arc.
"I tried to be more aggressive offensively and obviously that helped
us out tonight," Holiday added. "My jump shot was falling, so I just
really tried to go out there and make the right plays and help my
team."
 Holiday and Davis were spark plugs, but New Orleans coach Monty
Williams credited all of the Pelicans with generating the victory.
"We just played a great game," Williams said. "Defensively, we were
good, especially in the first half. And I can't say enough about the
ball movement and unselfish play. Now, the test for us is to see if
we can continue that."
Guard Kobe Bryant scored 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting -- he was
0-for-5 on 3-pointers -- to lead six Lakers in double figures, but
it didn't prevent Los Angeles (5-16) from dropping its third in a
row. Reserve guard Nick Young managed 13 points despite hitting just
three of 13 shots from the floor. Forwards Ed Davis and Carlos
Boozer had 12 points apiece.
"We couldn't find a way to put the ball in the hole," said Young,
who missed four of his six 3-point attempts. "And it wasn't just one
person, it was everybody."
Lakers coach Byron Scott benched point guard Jeremy Lin and power
forward Boozer and started guard Ronnie Price and Davis, hoping to
change's the team's fortunes. It mattered little, though, as Los
Angeles fell to 2-9 at home and were booed several times during the
contest.
Holiday's 12 points and Davis' nine staked the Pelicans to a 50-40
halftime lead. The Lakers' shooting woes in the first half also
helped New Orleans, as Los Angeles managed just 33.3 percent (17 of
51) compared to 43.2 percent (19 of 44) for the Pelicans. Los
Angeles also missed eight of nine 3-point attempts, while New
Orleans made five of 13 in the first half.
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Overall, the Pelicans shot 51.8 percent from the field to 40 percent
for the Lakers.
The Lakers cut the Pelicans' lead to six in the third quarter, but a
strong run by New Orleans to end the period pushed the advantage
back to double digits. Los Angeles got no closer than 12 the rest of
the way.
After a 3-pointer by Young cut the Pelicans' advantage to 63-57 with
4:28 remaining in the third, New Orleans went on a 16-2 run to end
the quarter for a 79-59 cushion. The Lakers never recovered.
"I thought we started off pretty good, to be honest with you," Scott
said. "I thought as the game went on, my biggest concern was what
ended up happening. We started missing shots. The more we missed,
the more we got deterred from what we were thinking about doing. We
started thinking about missing shots, and all of a sudden, we stop
playing the defense that we started off playing."
Pelicans starting forward Luke Babbitt left the game in the third
quarter with a mild left knee sprain. He will be re-evaluated
Monday.
NOTES: Lakers coach Byron Scott said it was a "no-brainer" to shake
up his starting lineup Sunday. "If you look at our record, you have
to make changes, at least I think you do as a coach," Scott said.
"I'm not going to stand back and watch it continue to be played this
way. I want to see if we can do some other things; I want to see if
these other two guys can come in and fit those roles. That's
basically what I'm looking for." ... The Pelicans host the New York
Knicks on Tuesday. ... The Lakers host the Sacramento Kings on
Tuesday before hitting the road for a three-game swing through San
Antonio (Friday), Minnesota (Dec. 14) and Indiana (Dec. 15).
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