The Lakers beat the Pelicans 110-106 to secure a ticket to seventh in the playoffs, where they will face the Nuggets in the first round. In fact, there was a team that was unexpected today, that is, the Warriors were hung out of the game by the Kings. Because most people thought before the game that the Lakers would be seventh, the result was not surprising. The Warriors are considered to be the most likely to grab the eighth ticket, because the league will favor the Warriors and Lakers into the playoffs in terms of box office and commercial revenue.
Last year, the Lakers and Warriors entered the playoffs at the same time, the Lakers were still seventh, and the Warriors were sixth, especially when the two teams met in the semifinals, and the NBA league made a lot of money. But sometimes there is no way, the league must have tried its best today, but the Warriors really can't help it. If the Warriors lose a few points and still have a chance to rely on penalties to help, who can help you if you lose more than 20 points? We can only say that the Lakers are really hard enough to seize the opportunity. Today, the Pelicans scared the Lakers out of a cold sweat, and if it weren't for Zion's late injury and retirement, it would be hard to say whether the outcome would have been said.
The Pelicans started the first quarter on the better side because of the high morale at home, and the Pelicans led by eight points at 34-26 in the first quarter. Zion scored a jumper in the second quarter, and the Pelicans led by 10 points at one point. But the Lakers quickly played 15-2 to complete the overtake, and Russell's performance was still strong. Of course, Zion's breakthrough today The Lakers can't stop it, the fat tiger is very smart, as long as James defends, he immediately calls people to change the defense, as long as he avoids Lao Zhan's defense, Zion's attack on the basket is unstoppable, the Lakers led by 10 points at halftime 60-50, and played a 34-16 climax in the single quarter.
The second quarter laid the foundation for the Lakers to win, and the Lakers started the second half with a 10-2 attack wave, and the difference came to 18 points at most. But the Pelicans are very tough, they are physically better than the Lakers, these young people continue to attack, Zion in the McCollum super-ghost situation to shoulder the responsibility, the Pelicans chased at the end of the third quarter to only 7 points. James was almost unable to run in the final quarter, and his single shot to McCollum was extremely slow and stumbled, but he still forced a foul.
It's just that Zion's explosion is unstoppable, and he led the team to a 13-2 tie in the final three minutes. But in the next round, Zion covered his face and left the court angrily, the reason was that when the last ball was successful in singles, there seemed to be a problem with his foot, and it seemed that there was no confrontation, but in fact, no confrontation was more dangerous. After Zion went off the court, the two sides also fought each other, fortunately Russell became the savior, his desperate three-pointer helped the Lakers get through the difficulties, and then at the last moment, James hit another shot, and the thick eyebrows grabbed a key offensive rebound and caused a foul, and the Pelicans had no leader but to surrender with a white flag.
In the whole game, James scored 23 points, 9 boards, 9 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks on 6-of-20 from the field, 6-of-16 with injuries and 20 points and 15 boards, and Russell was the absolute MVP with 21 points and 7 of the total. Physical fitness has too much impact on the Lakers, to be honest, it's good to play the Nuggets in the first round, if you lose, you will go home, and winning is a direct train to the Western Conference Finals. Compared to the further back the more tired, it is better to fight in the first round. Finally, the Pelicans, who are probably the most pathetic team in the league. From the previous time to overtake the Clippers to fourth, to Ingram's injury after the ranking slipped to sixth. Then they met the Lakers in the last two games, one loss kicked him out of the playoffs, and one loss sent the Lakers to seventh.
If the Pelicans don't have Zion in the next game, it's for the king. It's good for the warriors, but you can't catch it. You need to give Zion respect for having 40 points and 11 rebounds today, and with Ingram scoring 11 points and McCollum making 4-of-15 shooting, Fat Tiger showed leadership qualities. But fate is like this, the Lakers' style of play is too restrained to the Pelicans, and today is the opportunity to beat the Pelicans with thick eyebrows with injuries, and under normal circumstances, it is difficult for the Pelicans to put so much pressure on the Lakers with healthy thick eyebrows. This season, the Lakers and Pelicans played five games in the regular season and play-offs, and the Lakers have a 4-1 record. The Pelicans worked hard for a season, only to be destroyed by the Lakers. Lao Zhan's restrictions on Zion are really unique in the league, who would have thought that the 39-year-old veteran could become an insurmountable mountain for the fat tiger.