The New Orleans Pelicans (31-26) are heading into the All-Star Break in a pretty good place, winning three straight including Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers (23-33) 139-117.
The Pelicans came out of the gates strong, going on a 15-4 run in the first quarter to really set the tone for the evening. However, the Lakers responded soon after and made it a little bit more competitive as the first quarter came to an end.
Los Angeles took that momentum and quickly brought the Pelicans lead down to five points. It didn’t last long though as New Orleans started to take flight and went into the locker room up 79-66.
The third quarter woes continued for the Pelicans with the Lakers going on a 15-2 run to make it 81-79 with 8:39 left. Things started to turn around for New Orleans late in the third thanks to an ejection of Luke Walton with 1:38 left in the third, bringing Anthony Davis to the line to shoot five free throws. That was enough to get them back up by double digits as they headed into the final quarter.
The Pelicans started to pull away late with a Jrue Holiday fadeaway putting the game out of reach with 2:19 left in the ballgame.
The Pelicans will return to action on February 23rd when they host the Miami Heat (30-28) with tipoff set for 7 pm.
-Clint Domingue