The Los Angeles Lakers finished up their short two-game road trip with a matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night, and the absence of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Marc Gasol continued to be an issue.
The Pelicans were able to get to the bucket with ease all night, and the result was a 128-111 blowout loss for the Lakers.
Defense appeared optional in the opening minutes of the game. With the Lakers starting Devontae Cacok at the center position, Pelicans center Steven Adams was able to score at will. Luckily, L.A. took advantage of a porous Pelicans defense to keep it close, but they still trailed 18-13 at the 7:34 mark.
Montrezl Harrell was the first substitute of the game to try and stop the bleeding in the paint defensively. The plan worked to perfection, as the Lakers immediately went on a 12-4 run that spanned several minutes. With 3:07 left in the first, they led 25-22.
The Pelicans found some momentum towards the end of the quarter thanks to Zion Williamson. At the first break, L.A. trailed 32-29.
The second quarter began with the Lakers on a massive scoring drought. After getting to the free-throw line and hitting shots with ease, they went ice cold. They hit their first field goal — getting their only points prior off of a goaltend — with 7:40 to go in the second.
Frank Vogel was forced to call a timeout after the Pelicans grabbed a 45-33 lead halfway through the second quarter. Outside of Harrell, the Lakers simply had nothing to give offensively.
Things didn’t get any better for the Lakers the rest of the half, as they could not create any offense. They scored just 17 in the second quarter and trailed 59-46 at halftime.
The Pelicans further took advantage of a lost Lakers offense, taking turnovers and misses and turning them into quick points. With 9:32 to go, the Pelicans led 70-52.
After hanging around for a few more minutes, the Pelicans made another push to put things out of reach. At the 2:50 mark of the third, the game was blown wide open, with the Lakers trailing 90-66.
The onslaught continued after a Lakers timeout, with the Pelicans getting a chance to grow their lead even further. Heading into the fourth quarter, L.A. was looking at extended garbage time as they were down by 26, 102-76.
The Lakers began the fourth quarter well, cutting the deficit down to 18, but their offense once again slowed to a halt. By the 4:45 mark, it was back to 27 points.
It was Ingram’s night as the former Laker poured in a season-high 36 points on 14-of-21 shooting to go along with three rebounds and four assists. The Lakers finished with six players in double figures, led by Harrell’s 18 points.
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