After a disastrous loss to the Los Angeles Lakers to close out their regular season, the New Orleans Pelicans sought redemption in the opening game of the NBA Play-In Tournament on Tuesday. Instead of redemption, the Pels had a high-intensity contest that ended in a 110-106 loss after star Zion Williamson’s 40-point game and his early exit.
With the victory, the Lakers faced the defending champion Nuggets in Denver on Saturday in the first round of the playoffs. The Pelicans will host the Sacramento Kings, who defeated the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, in an elimination matchup on Friday.
LeBron James scored a team-high 23 points to go along with nine assists and nine rebounds. Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell, who scored 21 points and added seven assists, was also instrumental in the victory, going 5-of-11 from 3. Former Pelican Anthony Davis scored 20 points and had a game-high 15 rebounds.
Williamson, whose 40 points led both teams, also finished with 11 rebounds and five assists. He walked to the locker room in the final minutes of the game with what Pelicans coach Willie Green later described as pain in his left leg.
But with Williamson, the Pelicans shook off their Sunday sluggishness with a back-and-forth night. They led by 10 points in the opening seconds of the second quarter, but Los Angeles found its momentum before halftime and took a 10-point lead into halftime. From there, the Lakers continued to build in the third while continuing to limit CJ McCollum (nine total points) and Brandon Ingram (11 points), who seemed disheartened after playing their second game after missing the previous 12 games by one knee injury. .
The Pelicans cut their 18-point deficit to seven points entering the fourth quarter, and found a spark from there, pulling within two points after a 9-0 run that included a Williamson block on James that led to a triple by José Alvarado. Alvarado then assisted Williamson on a monster dunk to tie the game at 93-93, but the Lakers ultimately put the game away after Williamson’s surprising exit with just over three minutes left.
ALVARDO A SION.
WE ARE BOUND IN THE #SoFiPlayIn.
4 minutes left on TNT. pic.twitter.com/h9HeKaObJt
—NBA (@NBA) April 17, 2024
How will the Lakers fare against the Nuggets?
This was a commanding victory for the Lakers, who staved off the Pelicans’ second-half comeback to secure the No. 7 seed and advance to face the No. 2 Nuggets in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals. The Lakers will certainly be the big underdogs entering the series, but they are confident that their new starting lineup and powerful offense will give them a chance to defeat the defending champions.
The obvious challenge will be solving Denver’s offensive crisis, which has torn the Lakers apart over the last calendar year. Denver has won eight straight games against the Lakers entering Game 1 on Saturday. — Jovan Buha, senior Lakers writer
GO DEEPER
Win and face Denver, or lose and risk elimination? There is no wrong choice for the Lakers
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