Under normal circumstances, the Lakers would not have played a competitive game against the Pelicans on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Because in most seasons, a team like the Pelicans, who entered the game with the league’s sixth-worst record, was hoping to drop in the standings to secure the best possible lottery odds.
But this season hasn’t been typical, with the Pelicans, who won six of their last nine games on Tuesday, still looking to be competitive in light of trading away their 2026 first-round pick in a highly scrutinized trade that moved them up in the 2025 draft and selected rookie big man Derik Queen at No. 13.
The Lakers therefore had to fight to the end for the 110-101 victory over the Pelicans, who were able to hang because of the Lakers’ poor ball security.
Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. LeBron James had 21 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.
What it means
The Lakers are on their third three-game winning streak since December.
They moved to 37-24 on the season, closing in on an identical home record (18-12) as they did on the road (19-12).
Turning point
When Austin Reaves, who struggled with his shot most of Tuesday (15 points on 4-of-15 shooting), made the 3-pointer with 5:04 to go, he gave the Lakers a 96-94 lead.
The Lakers led the remainder of the game.
MVP: Marcus Smart
His 3-of-9 shooting doesn’t stand out.
But the veteran guard made the dagger 3-point to put the Lakers up 105-98 with 1:34 left.
And he made several game-changing defensive plays that fueled the Lakers’ offense.
Smart finished with 10 points, seven assists, four steals and three rebounds and had the best individual plus/minus among the starters.
Game stat: 22
That was the number of turnovers the Lakers committed against the Pelicans.
It was the 11th time they had at least 20 turnovers, with the Lakers going 4-6 on Tuesday in games in which they committed at least 20 turnovers.
Notably, it was only the third time the Lakers had at least 20 goals in a game that Doncic, LeBron and Reaves all played, with the latest being the February 5 win over the 76ers that Doncic left at halftime.
The Dec. 1 loss to the Suns marked the last time the Lakers had 20 turnovers in a game with all three star players playing out.
Next
The Lakers begin their upcoming back-to-back in Denver when they play the Nuggets on Thursday night at Ball Arena.
They close out the back-to-back Friday against the Pacers at Crypto.com Arena, where a five-game homestand will kick off.
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