Pelicans’ poor defense costs them as their winning streak comes to an end against Lakers

LOS ANGELES — Early in the second quarter, D’Angelo Russell drained a step-back 3-pointer.

Russell, whom the Los Angeles Lakers decided to hold onto at Thursday’s trade deadline, made a pull-up 3 on the Lakers’ next possession. Their next time down the floor, Russell made another 3. Two possessions later, Russell made one more.

Russell scored 14 points in less than two minutes. His shooting display lit the fuse on the Lakers’ explosive second quarter, in which they scored 51 points.

The New Orleans Pelicans’ leaky defense doomed them in a 139-122 loss to the Lakers on Friday at Crypto.com Arena.

Two nights after they limited the Los Angeles Clippers to 47 points in the first two quarters, the Pelicans gave up a franchise-record 87 first-half points to the Lakers.

“We just didn’t have a physical defensive presence tonight,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “I thought we started the game well. But that second quarter got away from us. Fifty-one points is a lot to overcome against a team this good. I don’t think either team played great defense. But they definitely hit some shots.”

Russell scored a team-high 30 points. All of the Lakers’ starters scored at least 20 points. LeBron James notched 21 points and 14 assists, while Anthony Davis 20 points.

Davis picked up his third foul with 4:10 remaining in the first quarter after he crashed into Brandon Ingram as Ingram was shooting a jumper. Even though Davis was off the floor for long stretches in the second quarter, the Pelicans’ modest three-point lead they built in the first quarter got wiped away.

New Orleans, which trailed by 13 points at halftime, opened the third quarter on a 14-5 run. But the Pelicans could not get stops consistently enough to stay in the game.

“Granted, they were hitting shots,” Zion Williamson said. “But we were fine with that. If you are going to hit tough shots, that happens. But we can’t give up easy layups and transition baskets because that’s when the game gets out of hand.”

Russell added two more 3-point makes in the final minute of the third quarter, shots that pushed the Lakers’ lead back to 13 points.

Williamson led the way for New Orleans with 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting. 

Ingram contributed 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. CJ McCollum scored 19 points.

The Lakers lost to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. Although they were playing on the second night of a back-to-back against the rested Pelicans, the Lakers played with more urgency. The Pelicans’ four-game winning streak was halted by their inability to provide resistance for any sort of sustained stretch on the defensive end.

The 139 points the Pelicans gave up were the second-most they have allowed in a game this season. 

“We have to be consistent with the defensive end of the ball,” Green said. “That comes down to mindset. Tonight, we didn’t bring it. That’s the deal. You have to bring it consistently. Tonight was one of those nights where they got to the foul line. We got frustrated with the calls. Just lack of defensive physicality on our part.”

The Pelicans next play Saturday against the Portland Trail Blazers. They have three more games before the All-Star break.

“We lost one game,” McCollum said. “It’s unfortunate that we lost. We have to be better in certain ways. We have to execute the game plan better and be more physical. But we have another game tomorrow. It’s just about how we respond.”