Under normal circumstances, the Lakers would not be playing a rivalry game against the Pelicans on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Because in most seasons, a team like the Pelicans, who entered the matchup with the league’s sixth-worst record, would have hoped to fall to the top to secure the best draft lottery chances.
But this season has been anything but typical, with the Pelicans, who have won six of their last nine games on Tuesday, still looking to compete given that they gave up their 2026 first-round pick in a highly scrutinized trade that moved them up into the 2025 draft to select rookie big man Derik Queen at No. 13.
So the Lakers had to fight to the end for a 110-101 victory over the Pelicans, who were able to hang on because of the Lakers’ poor ball security.
Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. LeBron James has 21 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.
What does it mean
The Lakers are on their third three-game winning streak since December.
They went 37-24 on the season, coming close to having the same home record (18-12) as road record (19-12).
A place to change
When Austin Reaves, who struggled with his shot most of Tuesday (15 points on 4-of-15 shooting), made a three-pointer with 5:04 left to give the Lakers a 96-94 lead.
The Lakers led the rest of the game.
MVP: Marcus Smart
His 3-of-9 shooting is not outstanding.
But the veteran guard made a dagger 3-pointer to put the Lakers up 105-98 with 1:34 left.
He also made several game-changing defensive plays that ignited the Lakers’ offense.
Smart finished with 10 points, seven assists, four steals and three rebounds, and had one of the best plus/minus for a rookie.
Game count: 22
That was the number of turnovers the Lakers committed against the Pelicans.
It was the 11th time they had at least 20 turnovers, and the Lakers enter Tuesday 4-6 in games with at least 20 turnovers.
Notably, it was just the third time the Lakers had at least 20 turnovers in a game with Doncic, LeBron and Reaves all playing, the last being a win on Feb. 5 for the 76ers that Doncic left at halftime.
The Dec. 1 loss to the Suns was the last time the Lakers had 20 turnovers in a game that all three All-Star players completed.
Next
The Lakers will begin their next game in Denver when they play the Nuggets on Thursday night at the Ball Arena.
They will close out the back-to-back on Friday against the Pacers at Crypto.com Arena, which will begin a five-game homestand.
