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 Forward Anthony Davis had 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists,
and the Pelicans routed the Lakers 113-92 Wednesday night at Staples
Center.
Davis, who also blocked four shots, made nine of 15 shots from the
floor for New Orleans, which had six players score in double digits.
The Pelicans (40-34) won their third in a row and pulled within 1
1/2 games of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the eighth and final spot
in the Western Conference playoffs. The Thunder lost Wednesday to
the Dallas Mavericks.
"We know that we want to be in that spot, but we have to take it one
game at a time," said Davis, who fell one assist shy of tying his
career best. "We got a tough Sacramento team coming up, and we have
to go out there and focus on that game. We can't look ahead. We
start jumping ahead, then we start getting out of control and losing
games. But our goal is try to get that spot."
New Orleans swept the season series from Los Angeles, winning all
four meetings, for the first time in franchise history. Three of the
four wins were by at least 16 points.
Pelicans guards Norris Cole and Tyreke Evans had 17 and 16 points,
respectively. New Orleans also got a boost from forward Ryan
Anderson, who returned after sitting out 18 games with a right MCL
sprain. Anderson finished with 17 points.
Anderson said his knee wasn't his major concern.
"Obviously, I was questioning my shape, where I was at, but I felt
good tonight," Anderson said. "That was definitely my prayer before
the game. Give me some lungs, God."
Guard Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points, handed out 10 assists and
grabbed seven rebounds for the Lakers, who lost for the third time
in four games and are headed for their worst campaign ever. Center
Tarik Black finished with a career-high 16 points.
"They have a lot of pieces," said Clarkson, who made seven of nine
shots and also grabbed seven boards. "They spread the floor out with
Ryan Anderson. He started making shots, and Anthony Davis is a load
at the rim. He is so athletic and long. They just made plays, and we
had trouble keeping their guys out of the paint."
The Pelicans seized control in the second quarter. Trailing 31-29
after the first period, New Orleans outscored the Lakers 31-18 in
the second for a 60-49 advantage at halftime. The Pelicans hit six
of seven 3-pointers to three of seven for the Lakers in the first
half. New Orleans also committed only one turnover to four for Los
Angeles (20-54). Both teams finished the night with seven miscues.
"We came out in the second quarter, and in the second half, and
tried to play good defensively and move the ball and play together,"
Davis said.
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The Pelicans continued to pour it on in the third quarter,
outscoring the Lakers 30-21 for a 90-70 cushion heading into the
final period. New Orleans connected on 13 of 19 field-goal attempts
(68.4 percent) to only nine of 23 (39.1 percent) for the Lakers in
the third.
The game featured nine lead changes and 10 ties, all occurring in
the first half.
"I thought we were just trading baskets (in the first quarter),"
Lakers coach Byron Scott said. "It was almost like the first team to
get a stop would win the game. But I know that they have much more
fire than we do offensively."
New Orleans wound up shooting 56.4 percent from the floor, 56.3
percent from 3-point range. Los Angeles made 44.6 percent of its
field-goal attempts, 31.3 percent from long distance.
NOTES: Los Angeles G Wayne Ellington sustained a mild separation of
his right shoulder. He will be re-examined Thursday. ... The return
of Pelicans F Ryan Anderson could ease the workload of F Anthony
Davis, who averaged more than 40 1/2 minutes the previous four
games, and probably cut into the playing time of backup C Alexis
Ajinca. "(Ajinca) has played really well as the third big for us,
which was Ryan's spot," New Orleans coach Monty Williams said. "And
A.D. has played big minutes, more minutes than I want him to play.
He's been around 40-41 minutes. I'd like to knock that down a bit,
but I'm not going to knock it down (and) put us in a position to
lose." Asked what he believed Davis' ideal minute count should be,
Williams deadpanned, "Forty-eight." ... Lakers G Jeremy Lin returned
after missing two games with an upper-respiratory infection. He
scored 10 points in 28 minutes. ... Both clubs resume play Friday.
The Pelicans visit the Sacramento Kings, while the Lakers host the
Portland Trail Blazers.
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