The Los Angeles Lakers waited until winning time to make their statement.
After three quarters of back-and-forth basketball, the Lakers erupted for 34 points in the fourth and pulled away from the New Orleans Pelicans for a 110-101 win Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. The result moved Los Angeles to 37-24, while New Orleans fell to 19-44.
How the game swung
New Orleans came out sharp, putting up 33 points in the first quarter to grab an early edge. Los Angeles answered with a steadier second period, winning the quarter 23-18 to tighten the game by halftime.
The Pelicans kept coming in the third, scoring 27, but the Lakers stayed within striking distance behind a 22-point quarter of their own. Then the fourth quarter flipped the script: Los Angeles’ 34-23 closing run turned a close contest into a controlled finish.
Ball movement was even — late execution wasn’t
Both teams ended with 29 assists, a sign that neither offense was stuck in isolation for long stretches. The difference came in the last 12 minutes, when the Lakers generated enough scoring punch to separate, while the Pelicans couldn’t match the pace.
Quarter-by-quarter snapshot
Q1: Pelicans 33, Lakers 31
Q2: Lakers 23, Pelicans 18
Q3: Pelicans 27, Lakers 22
Q4: Lakers 34, Pelicans 23
What it means going forward
For Los Angeles, this was a win built on closing power — the kind of fourth-quarter gear that matters as the season tightens. For New Orleans, the first-three-quarters competitiveness showed up again, but the inability to sustain offense late continued to be the separator in road results.