Anthony Davis, LeBron James power LA Lakers over New Orleans Pelicans

NEW ORLEANS – Los Angeles Lakers coach J.J. Redick did not mince his words despite his team winning their National Basketball Association (NBA) game on Nov 16.

Anthony Davis had 31 points and 14 rebounds and LeBron James added 21 points to spark the Lakers over the New Orleans Pelicans 104-99 on the road.

Los Angeles, who also got 27 points from Dalton Knecht, stretched their NBA winning streak to five games and grabbed a share of third in the Western Conference at 9-4, despite James not managing a fifth consecutive triple-double.

But it was not an easy victory, as the Pelicans once led by 15 points before the visitors fought back in the second half.

Speaking after the game, Redick was asked what he changed defensively for his team in the third and fourth periods.

“There wasn’t an adjustment defensively in the second half, it was just get the (expletive) ball,” he said briefly. “We clearly don’t like to make it easy.”

James finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Brandon Ingram had 32 points for the Pelicans in a losing cause.

James made a three-pointer with 37 seconds left to give the Lakers a 101-97 lead. A lay-up by Jeremiah Robinson-Earl lifted the Pelicans to within two, but James and Knecht sank free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory.

“Defensively, we did not do a great job,” James admitted.

“When you don’t have it (energy), as much as you would like to have it, we all just lean on the next guy. You can’t do it yourself, you can’t do it all by yourself.”

Over in Toronto, Jayson Tatum sank a 28-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Boston Celtics a 126-123 overtime victory over the Raptors.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 27 points, while Tatum just missed a triple-double with 24 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

Jakob Poltl led Toronto with 35 points, but the Raptors have now lost seven straight games.

The Celtics were without Jrue Holiday, who missed the game because of left knee tendinopathy.

Before the game, Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said he did not expect Holiday’s injury to linger. It was the first game Holiday has missed this season.

He also reserved special praise for Poltl, admitting that he was a big threat to his team.

“He’s a bear down there,” Mazzulla said.

“He’s good. It’s one of those situations where, if you play one coverage, he’s gonna shoot that. If you play a different one, he’s gonna bury you on the glass. So he puts teams in a bind. He’s a good player.”

In Charlotte, LaMelo Ball scored a game-high 26 points and sank two deciding free throws with 7.1 seconds remaining to give the Hornets a 115-114 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo – who had his first triple-double of the season with 22 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists – missed a potential game-winning jump shot with two seconds remaining.

Taurean Prince scored 23 points for the Bucks and Bobby Portis added 21 off the bench.

In Dallas, Kyrie Irving and reserve Daniel Gafford each scored 22 points and Luka Doncic added 16 to lead the Mavericks over the San Antonio Spurs 110-93. At 6-7, Dallas snapped a four-game losing skid.

“It’s good. Our approach for the game was good, shoot-around was great, energy was good, everybody was having a positive mindset going into today’s game,” Gafford said.

“We know what we have to do. We’re trying to figure it out on the fly.”

The Spurs were without star French big man Victor Wembanyama, who missed his first game of the season with a bruised right knee.

He suffered the injury on Nov 15 when he banged knees with Davis in the fourth quarter of a loss to the Lakers.

“Wemby” – last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year – has averaged 22.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.7 blocked shots a game this season. AFP, REUTERS