The Lakers are part of a competitive seeding race in the West. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
(Luke Hales via Getty Images)
The New Orleans Pelicans wound up being more trouble than expected, but it was a good night for the Los Angeles Lakers in the standings.
With a 124-108 win over a New Orleans team still missing every major contributor, the Lakers moved back into third place in the Western Conference with a 47-30 record. They leapfrogged the 47-31 Denver Nuggets, who were blown out by the Golden State Warriors.
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The Lakers shouldn’t have had much trouble with the 21-55 Pelicans with pretty much everyone but Rui Hachimura playing, but it took a while for them to pull away for good. The Pelicans took a lead as large as seven points in the second quarter, and it wasn’t until the fourth quarter the Lakers took a double-digit lead and kept it.
That’s not to say there weren’t highlights, though.
