On March 21, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA regular season was in full swing. In today's focus battle, the Pelicans took on the Hawks on the road. The Pelicans led by 15 points after three quarters, and in the final quarter they were stubbornly blocked by the Hawks, but eventually beat the Hawks 117-112.
The Pelicans were able to win today thanks to the outstanding performance of many people on the team. McCollum had 25 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists, Valanciunas had 26 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists, Hayes had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Hernan Gomez had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
After today's win, the Pelicans won two straight games, making the record 30-41! The Pelicans' record has already equaled the Lakers, and with the win-loss relationship, the Pelicans have overpowered the Lakers to rise to the 9th place in the West, and the Lakers have fallen to the 10th place in the West!
According to the current Western Conference rankings, the two teams trail the 8th-place Clippers in the West by 5 wins, 3 wins ahead of the 11th-place Spurs in the West. Given that there are few left in the regular season, the Pelicans and Lakers are likely to be nos. 9th and 10th in the West, which also means they will meet directly in the playoffs. Because of this, whoever gets 9th will have home-court advantage in the play-offs.
According to the schedule, the two teams will also have two direct encounters. On March 28 (Pelicans home) and April 2 (Lakers home), the outcome of these two games will likely determine the 9th place in the West!