March 6th, 2017

The Lakers had their hands full on Sunday night against the Pelicans new dynamic duo.  New Orleans held on late for a 105-97 win at Staples Center, behind the strength of DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis.

Cousins piled up 26 points and 15 rebounds, and Anthony Davis added 31 points and 9 rebounds, which ultimately sent the Lakers to their 7th straight loss.

Nick Young led LA with 19 points, while D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram each scored 16.  The Lakers were down by 14 points with just over 5:30 left in the game, and then they went on a 14-0 run.  Julius Randle made two free throws with 1:55 left, but the Lakeres wouldn’t come any closer than that.

Anthony Davis made a jumper on the next possession.  After D’Angelo Russell missed a 3-point jumper, the Pelicans would extend the lead further.  Jrue Holiday made a 3-pointer to put the game out of reach, which came after New Orleans picked up an offensive rebound from Holiday’s jumper just moments earlier.

“I missed a lot of wide-open ones,” said Russell.  “I could see if I was forcing it or whatever, but I feel like I missed a lot of wide-open ones that they capitalized on.”

“The execution wasn’t great in the last couple minutes,” Laker Coach Luke Walton said. “It was good experience for them, but the way we played in the third and the start of the fourth is where we’re going to be focusing our efforts going into practice tomorrow.”

The good news for the Lakers is that they are now two games behind the Phoenix Suns, comfortably giving them the 2nd worst record in the league.  That’s good news because the Lakers 1st round draft pick this year is top 3 protected.

The Lakers hit the road for a couple of games now.  They’ll face Dallas on Tuesday, followed by the Suns on Thursday, in another game that has big implications for draft positioning.