NEW ORLEANS — LeBron James and Luka Doncic left the fans inside the Smoothie King Center in awe at their performances on Tuesday night.
The two of them led a Lakers’ smothering defense in the fourth quarter and an efficient offense.
James had a near triple-double of 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Doncic had 30 points and 10 assists, the two of them leading the Lakers to a 111-103 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
“I love what’s happening right now with Luka and LeBron and that partnership, whether it’s pick-and-roll with each other,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
As he talked about James and Doncic and how dynamic those two are, Redick beamed at his two stars.
“There’s some real synergy happening right now and it’s fun to watch,” Redick said.
It was the second time in the last three games that James and Doncic have scored at least 30 points in a game. James had 31 against Memphis last Friday night and Doncic had 34.
Now, here James and Doncic were combining for 60 points on 21-for-41 shooting.
“It is gonna start with me and Luka, for sure, every time we hit the floor,” James said. “He has the ball in his hands. I’m gonna have the ball in my hands. We have to make sure we putting our guys in position offensively and then defensively. It has always been my voice to make sure I command with my voice and everybody knows what’s going on on the floor.”
As James talked, he shot down the theory that Doncic has to bend his game to James’ or to any of his teammates.
James simply noted that the Lakers (23-11) are Doncic’s team and the rest of them will follow his lead, including James.
“Luka don’t need to bend his game. Luka is our (26-year-old) franchise for this ball club,” James said. “He don’t need to bend this game. It’s up to us to bend our game around him and figure it out. We just try to be dynamic to work off of him. We know he is an unbelievable pick-and-roll player, unbelievable shot maker. He commands the defense. He had four eyes, sometimes six eyes on him. So it’s us…It’s up to us to put ourselves in the right position. So, it’s not a problem for me, it’s not an issue for me. To be able to do things that… I don’t know…I just don’t think people watch basketball.”
So when Doncic threw a two-handed lob pass from beyond the three-point line to a high-flying James on the baseline in the second quarter, it was another example of how Doncic controls the game and how James fits in.
The Lakers opened the fourth quarter with an intensity on defense.
They turned a deficit at the end of the third into a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter by opening the quarter with an 18-4 run to take a 97-90 lead.
Still, it took the Lakers playing hard until the end to close out the victory.
When Doncic lost control of the basketball late, it looked like it would be a 24-second clock violation as he stumbled.
Instead, he got the ball back with James and two Pelican defenders all close by and shot a wild floating three-pointer for a 105-96 Lakers lead with one minute and 59 seconds left.
Doncic looked at the Pelicans bench after the ball settled into the net and roared.
The Pelicans called a time out, leading James to bump Doncic on the back, put his head in Doncic’s chest and then slap him on the head, the two of them smiling at the magical moment.
“I told him (James), he set a great screen. If you don’t set that screen, I probably was not that open,” Doncic said, joking and smiling. “But, it was a great moment. He started the fourth quarter with two threes and then an assist. So he got us back into the game. We appreciate him.”
The defense the Lakers played in the fourth was tremendous.
They held the Pelicans to17 points and 33.3% shooting. The Lakers took three charges in the fourth, one a career-first by Dalton Knecht and one by Doncic.
Now the Lakers turn their attention to playing a back-to-back game Wednesday night in San Antonio and the question presented to James was about him playing.
The 41-year-old James said it was “TBD,” to be determined.
“You guys know that,” James said. “I’m 41 years old, of course, it’s always…Every back-to-back for the rest of the season is TBD. I am 41. I got the most minutes in NBA history. Bank it right now. What are we talking about? What are we talking about?”
Doncic had 16 points and six assists in the first half and James had 15 points and six rebounds.
But starting forward Jake LaRavia didn’t score in his 18 minutes of play in the first half.
The Lakers then went down by nine points in the third quarter, meaning they had to play catch-up the rest of the way.
The Lakers play a back-to-back game Wednesday night in San Antonio, leading to Redick being asked if the 41-year-old James would play against the Spurs.
“We have no plan for any of our players,” Redick said. “We’re gonna see what happens tonight.”
Etc.
Lakers guard Gabe Vincent is on the two-game trip, but he was downgraded to out for the game against the Pelicans with a lumbar back strain. Vincent has missed the last nine games, but there is hope he’ll be available Wednesday against San Antonio. “We just downgraded Gabe,” Redick said. “He has not had a setback, but we’re hoping he gets to play tomorrow. But again, it’s all about how he feels tomorrow.”