Lakers push win streak to seven games in wonky win over Pelicans

LOS ANGELES --- It was wonky, it was brilliant, and most of all, it was another Lakers win, beating the Pelicans 133-121 on Sunday for their seventh straight win.

Los Angeles continued to improve their second-best record in the Western Conference to 15-4, pushing to 7-2 at home with their sixth straight win at Crypto.com Arena, but head coach JJ Redick urges that there's a lot of room to improve as a team.

“It’s nice to sit here and be 15-4 and be like, ‘The results are great …’ We should be proud to be 15-4 after 19 games. It's a great start," Redick said. "There’s a lot of slices of pizza left in the box that we can still get after."

The Lakers imposed their will to start the game against a New Orleans team that was missing their top three scorers, ending the first quarter with 46 points—the most points they've scored in a quarter all season with LeBron James out of the lineup.

The reason? The NBA's best first-quarter scorer (12.3) and league-leading scorer (35.1 ppg), Luka Dončić finished the opening quarter with 20 points—four points less than what New Orleans had at 24.

James' absence, managing a foot injury, meant a needed punch alongside Dončić from Austin Reaves. He continued to do so, as he's shown to be the new second option behind the Slovenian all-star with his fourth 30-point game of the season.

Dončić finished with 34 points (12 rebounds, seven assists), while Reaves finished with 33 points (eight assists). It was one point shy between the two, and Reaves jokingly said he's glad he didn't outscore Dončić (again for the second straight game) to keep his confidence high.

With a 26-point lead, the Lakers slowly keep taking their foot off the gas with each possession as New Orleans up the tempo. It resulted in a wonky second half that saw the Lakers get outscored 64-56.

"Sometimes you get a lead like that... teams can get a little bored, and that's what we're trying to get away from, continuing to be a processing team," Redick said.

Dončić and Reaves forced their way to the foul line—combining for 26 free throw attempts—to keep the Pelicans from getting within reach. They closed out New Orleans the rest of the way with their main rotation staying in till the final horn to cut any hope of a comeback, minus their starting center.

Deandre Ayton's finish to the game was cut short after landing wrong on his knee and then colliding knees with the Pelicans' Derik Queen. The same knee (contusion) forced him to miss two games last week.

"He kind of tweaked the little collision I had the other day in Utah," Ayton said. "It cooled down after the game, so I'm good now.

Before leaving, Ayton commanded the middle for the Lakers' front court in contesting shots—he ended the night with four blocks—and being a scorer in the paint.

"I was trying to play every game like it's my last, especially coming into the season hearing all the noise and the doubters, especially after the first game," Ayton said, who had 22 points and 12 rebounds.

"It just brought a lot of fumes to my fire a little bit to where I just lock in on this defensive end, and the other end I don't really gotta worry about too much but setting screens and getting guys open when I roll. Everything really comes together and I realize that I generate a lot of energy."

Dončić said that Ayton has been amazing and a big help to the Lakers in winning games, with his eighth double-double of the season.

The Lakers will finish their homestand on Monday for the last night of a back-to-back against the Suns. Then they will play six of their next seven games on the road, starting in Toronto on Thursday.