For three quarters, the New Orleans Pelicans played the Los Angeles tough, actually outscoring the Lakers.
The problem was the first quarter. The Lakers blitzed the Pelicans early and often and went on to defeat New Orleans 133-121 at home Sunday night.
The Lakers came out and destroyed the Pelicans in the first quarter, scoring 46 points to take a 46-27 lead. From there, the game was basically over quickly. It proved to be too big of a deficit for New Orleans to overcome.
Luka Doncic was awesome with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists in the first quarter.
Pelicans coach James Borrego decided to double team Doncic when he returned midway through the second quarter.
It was effective as Doncic was limited to two points and the Pelicans played the Lakers even in the quarter and trailed 77-57 at the break.
Derik Queen picked up his third foul in the second quarter. Queen had 11 points and three rebounds in the half.
The Lakers shot 63 percent from the field, blistering the nets against a less than impressive defensive effort by New Orleans. Los Angeles shot 22 free throws in the first half.
Doncic actually switched shoes at halftime.
The Pelicans, playing hard, pulled within 11 points in the third quarter but the Lakers closed the quarter on a run to take a 108-92 lead going to the fourth quarter.
New Orleans continued to compete hard but could not close the gap.
Bryce McGowens was impressive for the Pelicans, scoring a career-high 23 points, matching his age. McGowens added seven rebounds and five assists.
Saddiq Bey continued his solid play with 22 points and 11 rebounds and Jeremiah Fears had 21 points. Rookie Micah Peavy was good as well, scoring 13 points, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
Doncic finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Austin Reaves had 33 points, eight assists and five rebounds.
New Orleans lost despite shooting 51 percent from the field.
The Pelicans showed grit, playing the second of back-to-back games and playing without Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, Jordan Poole, Karlo Matkovic, Jordan Hawkins and, of course, Dejounte Murray.
The Lakers (15-4), second in the Western Conference, won their seventh straight game. The Pelicans, last in the Western Conference, lost their third straight game.
New Orleans (3-18) returns home to host Minnesota Tuesday night.
