After a tough loss to the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, the LA Lakers, who are fighting for playoff positioning, hosted the already-eliminated New Orleans Pelicans, who were missing most of their key players, in a must-win matchup on Friday.
Below is the box score for the New Orleans Pelicans vs LA Lakers game.
New Orleans Pelicans vs LA Lakers player stats and box score
The Lakers started strong, jumping to a 10-3 lead, highlighted by a Jaxson Hayes alley-oop. However, the Pelicans quickly found their rhythm, tying the game at 10-10 with a 7-0 run led by Jose Alvarado.
From that point, it was a tight contest, with the Pelicans maintaining their momentum to finish the first quarter up 30-25.
The Lakers slowly chipped away at the Pelicans’ lead, and a Jordan Goodwin driving layup gave the Lakers a 45-44 advantage.
From there, it was all Lakers as they closed the half with a 17-9 run, leading 62-53 at halftime. Luka Doncic and LeBron James both had 13 points in the first half, with Dalton Knecht adding 12 and Austin Reaves contributing 11.
For the Pelicans, Alvarado led the way with 18 points.
John Ezekiel Hirro is an experienced NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda, with over five years in the field as a news correspondent, sports writer, and Editor-in-Chief. His sports writing career began in high school, where he garnered numerous accolades, including being named the national sports writing champion in 2016.
He earned his journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines in 2024 and served as the Editor-in-Chief of The Varsitarian, the university’s official student publication, for four years—the longest in history.
A passionate basketball enthusiast, he became a fan of the OKC Thunder during the Russ-KD-Harden era. Russell Westbrook, his all-time favorite athlete, impressed him by stepping up as MVP after Kevin Durant’s departure. His current favorite players include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, who he believes are the future of the OKC franchise.
He excels in game analysis and rapid news story turnaround, drawing inspiration from the journalistic styles of Woj and Shams. He emphasizes thorough research to ensure accuracy in his articles. One of his most memorable moments is Russell Westbrook breaking Oscar Robertson’s record with his 42nd triple-double and securing a 106-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Outside of writing, he enjoys listening to music and creating Spotify playlists.
