Julius Randle racked up a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Lakers' top performer in the game, but the Lakers couldn't stop a late surge from the Pelicans behind Anthony Davis' 33 point performance, losing 125-128. KCP was the team's leading scorer with 28 points. Brook Lopez racked up 23 points and 6 boards and Kyle Kuzma notched 22 points to go with 5 rebounds to round out the starters. I.T. lead the 2nd unit scoring with 15 points.
Final Score: @ New Orleans 125-128 [L]
Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20180322/LALNOP#/recap
Next Game: @ Memphis (03/24)
Highlights: *Courtesy of Rapid Highlights*
Remembered when I said that this current Laker team is not built for shootout games when they loss to the Mavs last month? That still holds true. Don't get me wrong, they almost pulled it out, but surrendering 128 pints is frustrating. The time they were up by double figures, by 11 points early in the fourth quarter, that should've been the time the Lakers should put the clamps on defensively. Some positives in this game first, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went off from deep. He was off to a really good start in the first quarter and finished strong to end the game despite the losing effort. In the final seconds of the game, Luke Walton drew up a play for KCP to get open and hit a potential game-tying three. But, the Pelicans were well-prepared for that to force a pass from KCP. The defense was not the only problem of the game. Should I throw it out there? I should. Lonzo Ball shot 1-12 from beyond the arc. Despite grabbing 13 rebounds and 9 assists, he only made one three. Based on Luke's comments, most of the looks that Zo was getting were high-percentage looks. The problem is, his shot kept clanking off the rim. Overall, Zo shot 2-15 from the field. He only took three shots from inside. What happened to more slashing at the rim? Obviously, he got blocked by AD when he tried to take it to the rim? But who hasn't been blocked by AD? I saw on the highlights Isaiah Thomas did the same thing when going up against AD. Here's the difference, I.T. bumped into AD to give him some space for the layup and prevent him from blocking the shot. Definitely, the point of emphasis for Zo this offseason is scoring, working on that shot and knowing when to take it strong to the basket when the shot is not falling. The rebounding, passing, and defense is there already. Other than that, this loss just paints a recurring picture that the Lakers can't play with the lead, especially on the road. Not to mention, they really miss Ingram to be that closer. They really need him back if they want to get back on track and make a strong finish by season's end.
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