LOS ANGELES — There are beautiful wins and there are necessary wins. Tuesday night’s game at Crypto.com Arena fell squarely into the second category.
The Pelicans still led 94-93 with less than five minutes left, and the Lakers looked fragmented, turnover-prone and in danger of missing the ball. Then there’s the pivot.
advertise
Austin Reaves hit a three-pointer from the right wing to give the Lakers a 96-94 lead. On the ensuing trip, Luka Doncic drove hard into the paint, absorbed contact without a whistle, but finished anyway — and roared at the referee as the ball fell into the net. This is not subtle. It’s emotional. That’s the spark.
The Lakers never looked back.
They ended the game on a 24-7 run, outscoring New Orleans by 17 points in the final seven minutes to win 110-101, their third straight victory. In a game that felt chaotic for long periods of time, they were clinical when it mattered most.
The Lakers have a 17-5 record in clutch games and have the best clutch winning percentage in the NBA. Doncic then pointed out something simple.
advertise
“Purpose,” he said of the fourth-quarter surge.
Even he admitted it wasn’t pretty.
“Sometimes you have to win by playing poorly, and that’s what good teams do,” Doncic said. “Obviously it wasn’t our best game, but we won.”
Luka’s edge – and the route he’s taking
Doncic played 38 minutes and scored 27 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists, shook off 7 turnovers and made 3 of 10 three-pointers. With less than a minute left, he stabbed him three times with a dagger and – yes – let officials hear it again.
This is his 14th technical foul this season. Two more would mean an automatic suspension with 21 games remaining. It was just his first time since January 20th. The balance between firepower and control is crucial. Especially with the standings tightening.
advertise
The Big Three – Imperfect, Effective
It’s not a masterpiece from the Lakers star, but it’s enough. LeBron James played 33 minutes and had 21 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, although he committed 5 turnovers and made 1 of 5 three-pointers. He now has 15,835 regular-season field goals made, just three shy of the all-time record Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15,837).
Head coach JJ Redick made it clear that he will not chase numbers.
“I’m not going to coach a basketball game that way, trying to get a guy to set a record,” Redick said. “He’s going to break his record and we’re trying to win a basketball game.”
When asked about the lineup combination with Doncic and Reeves, James echoed a team-first tone.
advertise
“If I’m on the floor, I’m only going to play with whoever’s on the floor with us. I’m not going to analyze the lineup. It’s my job to try to make that happen no matter who I’m on the floor with.”
Reeves, meanwhile, added 15 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks — perhaps the most honest statement of the night when discussing guarding Zion Williamson.
“Don’t be afraid to get out of the way, I’m afraid,” Reeves said. “There was no way I was going to charge. He was running too fast. I just slid away and let him get to the layup.”
Defense, energy and 12 blocks
The Lakers forced the issue defensively, finishing with 12 total blocks – every starter had at least one. The Pelicans only had three points. They scored 28 fast-break points to New Orleans’ 18 and made up for 22 turnovers with rim protection and late-game execution.
advertise
James believes the defensive improvements are real.
“I think we made some progress defensively,” James said. “The man-to-man defense was really good. Jackson and Marcus did a great job there and then the rest of the guys came in.”
Smart and Hayes change the game
Marcus Smart described it as “chaos.” He was not wrong. But he also changed.
Smart finished with 10 points, seven assists and four steals in 30 minutes, tracking the ball handler and confronting Zion throughout. Redick didn’t mince words.
“He gave us life tonight,” Redick said.
Smart calls it collective resilience.
“We were all out there, sacrificing our bodies,” Smart said. “No one started to panic or panic.”
advertise
On a play guarding two players, Smart anticipated a pass and jumped out of the paint to make the steal — the kind of instinctive play that would define his career.
“That’s what I do,” Smart said. “That’s how my mind works and I made a great game for my team.”
Jackson Hayes came off the bench and brought similar energy: 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 4 key offensive rebounds in 23 minutes.
“He’s a good basketball player and, frankly, he brings energy to the team consistently,” Redick said. Later, he added that Smart and Hayes “changed the game.”
DeAndre Ayton also performed well, scoring 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in 25 minutes.
advertise
The bigger picture
The Lakers’ record improved to 37 wins and 24 losses, only half a game behind fifth place and only 1.5 games behind third place in the Western Conference. With 21 games left, the margin for error is slim — and nights like Tuesday, while chaotic, are also important.
But when things tightened, they executed with purpose.
Sometimes, it’s a sign of a team growing into more than just highlight reels and stat lines. A team learning how to close. And now, the Lakers are shutting down.
