LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic had 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, LeBron James added 21 points and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied past the New Orleans Pelicans 110-101 Tuesday night for their third straight victory.
Deandre Ayton had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers, who overcame a fourth-quarter deficit and 21 turnovers by scoring 14 straight points down the stretch and finishing on a 24-7 run. Their late surge was led by Doncic and by Austin Reaves, who missed his first eight shots of the night before ending up with 15 points.
Zion Williamson scored 24 points in his return from a one-game absence after hurting his ankle last Saturday for the Pelicans, who lost for only the second time in six games on the fourth outing of their six-game West Coast trip. Trey Murphy III scored 21 points and Saddiq Bey had 18.
New Orleans jumped to an eight-point lead with just over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the Lakers finally awoke and held the Pelicans scoreless over the next 4:18.
Reaves hit a 3-pointer with 5:04 left to put LA back ahead 96-94, and Marcus Smart and Doncic hit clutch 3s in the final two minutes to seal it. Smart had 10 points, seven assists, four steals and three blocked shots in an impressive performance.
James had seven rebounds and seven assists. He also went 8 of 12 from the field to move within two baskets of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who holds the NBA’s career record for field goals at 15,837.
Doncic received his 14th technical foul of the season in the second quarter, and he wasn’t whistled for a second despite clapping at a referee to protest a no-call in the final minutes. He’ll be suspended if he gets a 16th T.
Up next
Pelicans: At Sacramento on Thursday night.
Lakers: At Denver on Thursday night.
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