The Los Angeles Lakers secured their third consecutive victory on Tuesday night, defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 111-103 at the Smoothie King Center. The superstar pairing of LeBron James and Luka Doncic dominated the contest, with both players finishing with 30 points apiece.
The win moves the Lakers to 23-11, tying them for third place in the Western Conference standings. Despite a career-high 42-point performance from Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III, New Orleans was unable to overcome a late fourth-quarter surge led by the Lakers’ veteran duo.
A defining moment of the game came with two minutes remaining when Doncic drained a circus three-pointer while falling out of bounds to beat the shot clock. The shot extended the Lakers' lead to nine and effectively silenced the home crowd. James, now 41 and in his 23rd NBA season, could only marvel at the play.
"We know he’s Luka magic for a reason," James said postgame. "He does it all the time, so there’s not one shot on the floor that we don’t think he can make, no matter if there’s 24 seconds on the shot clock or at the end of the buzzer."
James was equally emphatic about the team's hierarchy, stating that the Lakers must revolve around the 26-year-old Doncic. "Luka don’t need to bend his game," James noted, according to an exclusive report by Reuters.
"He’s our franchise for this ballclub. It’s up to us to bend our game around him and figure it out. We just try to be dynamic and work off of him. He commands the defense; he has four eyes, sometimes six eyes on him." James added that shifting his own role to accommodate Doncic's ball-dominance is "not a problem" as the team continues to find its rhythm.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick compared managing James' output at age 41 to handling a veteran pitcher. "He’s Greg Maddux at the end of his career," Redick said. "Every night he doesn’t have his best stuff, but he has enough to win. I’m his catcher; I’ve got to figure out how to call the pitches."
Redick highlighted the growing synergy between his two stars, noting that their two-man game and pick-and-roll efficiency have become a significant problem for opposing defenses. James finished the night with 30 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, while Doncic added 10 assists to his 30-point total.
The Lakers now look toward a back-to-back matchup against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. James, who recently returned from a month-long absence due to sciatica, remained non-committal about his availability for the second leg of the trip. "Every back-to-back, for the rest of the season, is TBD," James said. "I am 41. I got the most minutes in NBA history. Bank that answer right now."
