adminLeBron James had a triple-double, Anthony Davis had a double-double and the visiting Los Angeles Lakers dominated the New Orleans Pelicans 124-108 in the regular-season finale Sunday.
James finished with 28 points, 17 assists and 11 rebounds and Davis had 30 points and 11 rebounds as the Lakers (47-35) clinched the No. 8 seed and set up a rematch with the seventh-seeded Pelicans (49-33) in a play-in game Tuesday night in New Orleans.
Austin Reaves added 20 points, D’Angelo Russell scored 19 and Rui Hachimura had 11 for L.A.
CJ McCollum scored 25 points to lead New Orleans. Herbert Jones added 18, while Larry Nance Jr. and Brandon Ingram, returning from a 12-game absence due to a hyper-extended knee, scored 13 each.
Zion Williamson had 12, Trey Murphy III 11 and Jose Alvarado 10 for New Orleans, which saw its four-game winning streak end. The Pelicans fell from No. 6 in the West and into the play-in because Phoenix defeated Minnesota 125-106 and won the tie-breaker with the Pelicans for No. 6.
L.A. never trailed in the game, leading by as many as 23 points in the first half and outscoring New Orleans 68-42 in points in the paint for the game. The Lakers won the season series 3-1 as the visiting team prevailed for the first time.
Reaves made one 3-pointer and Russell added two to start L.A.’s third-quarter scoring and help the Lakers expand their lead to 85-57.
Davis scored eight of his 14 first-quarter points as the Lakers opened a 17-7 lead. Ingram scored the Pelicans’ final nine points as they trimmed the lead to 30-24 at the end of the period.
The former interpreter for Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani made his first appearance in court Friday on a bank fraud charge accusing him of stealing $16 million from the LA Dodger to cover illegal gambling debts.
Taurean Prince and James each made a pair of layups and L.A. increased the lead to 15 points early in the second quarter. New Orleans got within 12 before Reeves scored five points, James had a three-point play and an assist and the Lakers matched their biggest lead of the half, 60-37.
Nance scored seven points, making one of four 3-pointers in the final 3:39 of the half that helped the Pelicans creep within 70-53 at halftime. – Reuters
Online Reporter