Notwithstanding their respectable 47-35 final record, the Los Angeles Lakers secured the octet position in the Western Conference, thereby securing a preliminary-round matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
The Lakers generally dominated the Pelicans throughout the regular season, including Sunday’s regular season finale. The Lakers secured a 110-106 victory despite the difficulty of the situation in order to advance to the postseason.
The Pelicans established a commanding 4-0 lead prior to Austin Reaves’s three-pointer for the Lakers; however, Brandon Ingram answered with his own immediately thereafter.
Ingram got off to a quick start by converting two midrange jumpers. However, LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell both made consecutive deep attempts to give the Lakers their initial lead.
However, the Lakers became lifeless after James was substituted, and Zion Williamson started to heat up inside. By the conclusion of the first quarter, Pelicans had established a 34-26 advantage.
James returned for the beginning of the second quarter, and the Lakers went on an unexpectedly quick 9-0 run, compelling the Pelicans to call timeouts.
Gabe Vincent, who was inactive during the regular season, provided the Lakers with the lead with two 3-pointers. Vincent arrived just in time.
Los Angeles subsequently seized control with an additional 13-0 run. Once more, Prince made a penetrating connection, and James was in аttаck mode, incurring foul calls. Williamson, however, went coast to coast and scored at the buzzer to reduce the Lakers’ lead to 60-50, following a poor turnover.
Anthony Davis had a subdued first half and carried over that into the third quarter when he committed an оffensive infraction. However, the Pelicans persisted in their careless ball management, which enabled James and the Lakers to gain a transition advantage and extend their lead to 18.
However, Williamson and the Pelicans responded swiftly with a transition layup and three-point play, which cоmpelled the Lakers to call a timeout.
With James once more coming off the bench, the Pelicans made a further charge to conclude the third quarter and narrow the deficit to seven points, 83-76.
James returned for the beginning of the fourth period and once more reinstated Los Angeles’s order by locating a cutting Vincent for a layup and subsequently Russell for a triple.
However, the Pelicans refused to go away, responding with two triples from Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy III to trim their deficit to two following a 9-0 runoff.
As Williamson earned 40 points via an alley-oop and a subsequent layup, the game was deadlocked at 95 heading into the dying seconds.
Although Williamson appeared to have sustained an ιnjury, his return to the locker room was a monumental development that effectively ended the contest. In light of this, Reaves assisted Davis on a dunk and subsequently assisted Russell on a three-pointer to extend the Lakers’ lead to four.
In the final seconds, CJ McCollum made a layup that reduced the deficit to two for the Lakers. However, Reaves was fouled and converted both free throws to extend the deficit to four. The game would then be effectively closed out by the Lakers.
