Woe to the vanquished between New Orleans And Los Angeles, in the race for the play-in and the playoffs. Tied (33-35) for 9th and 10th place in the West before the match, the two teams had no choice but to win at the end of the season under pressure.
And it seems that the Pelicans didn’t understand what was at stake in this match, since they were simply catastrophic in attacking the game. Quickly left behind on the scoreboard, to the point of being 15 points behind after a quarter and turning to -35 at the break, the returning teammates Brandon Ingram (22 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists) were then never able to return to contact with visitors.
A real boon for Lakersguided by Anthony Davis (35 points, 17 rebounds) and Malik Beasley (24 points), which obviously did not require so much. Authors of a dream first half, the “Purple & Gold” thus take advantage of it to pick up 8th place in the West and, as of tomorrow evening in Houston, they will have the opportunity to seize it and finally come to equilibrium.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
— A more than perfect first half for Los Angeles. The Lakers made this game easy by simply delivering a first period of fire. Authors of 75 points and leading 35 units, they shattered the Pelicans defense, unable to resist the control and execution of Darvin Ham’s men in attack. Irresistible at 3-pointers (15 baskets awarded, franchise record in a half), in the wake of Malik Beasley, the “Purple & Gold” just succeeded in everything they undertook, on each side, while Anthony Davis also dominated quietly, and discreetly, inside.
— Good operation for Los Angeles, unlike New Orleans. In the event of a victory, each team could come back up to the Mavericks, 8th in the Western Conference. Mission accomplished for the Lakers therefore, who are only a small success away from benefiting from a balanced balance sheet and which leave the Pelicans a match behind them (tied with the Jazz). Note that the Thunder, winner against the Nets, is also in the race, to the point of now holding 8th place ahead of Dallas and Los Angeles. Tomorrow’s evening will be worth its weight in gold, but Anthony Davis is already announced absent from the Rockets.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Anthony Davis. Travel to Louisiana is always special for the former Pelicans player, who did not fail to shine in front of his former audience. Eager to bounce back after a complicated match against the Knicks, “AD” immediately stood out to launch the Lakers to a 14-0 start. Aggressive and dominating in the paint, he gave Jonas Valanciunas hell all evening. Only (small) downside: Davis played 33 minutes, when he could have settled for 20-25 if Los Angeles had better managed their lead in the second half. What would have allowed him to be “back-to-back” in Houston?
✅ Malik Beasley. The rear of the Lakers will have regained his shooting sensations for the space of a half, the first. Enough to plant 21 points and 7 award-winning baskets! Full of confidence and completely on fire, he blew up the Pelicans defense with his multiple first-line and catch-and-shoot outside successes. More discreet thereafter, Beasley still signs one of his best outings since his arrival in Los Angeles. Good news for him, in the hard for four games (5/23 from afar).
⛔ CJ McCollum. We could have quoted the Pelicans in full, given what they offered in the first half, but difficult to ignore the level of play displayed by McCollum, one of the leaders of the team with Brandon Ingram . In this extremely important match in relation to the classification, he was completely torn in scoring: 13 points, only 5/17 to shoot, including 1/10 from 3-points… New Orleans would have needed the twenty points usual from his rear, certainly interesting in the creation (9 passes for 1 lost ball), but it is not in this register that he was expected…
⛔ Jarred Vanderbilt. Clearly not the best performance of “Vando” since he evolves under the colors of “Purple & Gold”. Sent on a defensive mission on Brandon Ingram, he thus accumulated the faults, which handicapped him quite a bit throughout the meeting. In these conditions, it is difficult to find rhythm and to stand out, despite a few sequences where his monster activity has been good. Note, too, the mixed performances of Dennis Schröder or D’Angelo Russell in the “backcourt”, from the moment when it was necessary to hold the score and manage the lead in the second half.
THE FOLLOWING
New Orleans (33-36) : trip to Houston, on the night of Friday to Saturday (01:00).
Los Angeles (34-35) : “back-to-back” in Houston, on the night of Wednesday to Thursday (01:00).
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
