NBA: LeBron James scores 21 in return as Lakers defeat Pelicans

LeBron James (centre) of the Los Angeles Lakers scores against the New Orleans Pelicans at Crypto.com Arena on Feb 15. PHOTO: AFP

LOS ANGELES – LeBron James returned to the Los Angeles Lakers line-up on Wednesday night but, for once, the spotlight was not so much on him but on the team’s new acquisitions.

Anthony Davis scored 28 points with 10 rebounds and James added 21 points, as the Lakers went into the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star break with a 120-102 home win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

D’Angelo Russell – who was a Laker in 2015-17 – scored 21 points and Malik Beasley added eight for Los Angeles, who won for just the second time in six games and improved to 27-32.

Jarred Vanderbilt added six points as all three players were in their third game for the Lakers after being acquired in a trade last week.

James missed the previous three games with an ankle injury, last playing on Feb 7 when he set the NBA’s all-time scoring record. The team were 1-2 without him.

“There was a huge emphasis on getting this win,” Davis said on ESPN, before he praised his new teammates.

“Guys came out and played with a lot of energy and urgency. It was only our first game together, but it looked good.”

The Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram scored 25 points against his former team, while C.J. McCollum added 22 after missing Monday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder with ankle injury.

Jonas Valanciunas scored 12 points with 11 rebounds for New Orleans (30-29), who will head into the break with two defeats in last six games following a 10-game losing streak.

The Lakers led wire-to-wire, going up by as many as 15 points in the first quarter and taking a 38-25 advantage into the second period.

They saw their lead cut to 55-51 at half-time and 56-55 less than two minutes into the second half.

“I feel really good about what we’ve got brewing, but we need to lock in,” James said, agreeing with Davis’ comments about their new-look team.

“It’s the first time we’ve all been on the floor together, so we wanted to see what it looks like, and the first 40 minutes looked pretty good.”

Mo Bamba, also a new acquisition, had four points and six rebounds in 16 minutes in his Los Angeles debut.

The Pelicans’ Josh Richardson was ejected with 10:52 remaining when he received a double technical, after he appeared to be fouled by James on a shot attempt and nothing was called.

Elsewhere, Nikola Jokic bagged his 21st triple-double of the season as the Denver Nuggets maintained their grip on the top spot in the Western Conference with a 118-109 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to set up a third straight win for Denver, who now lead the standings by five games with 41 wins and 18 defeats.

The Mavericks (31-29) were without new signing Kyrie Irving, who watched from the sidelines as Luka Doncic finished with 37 points in vain at Denver’s Ball Arena.

Irving was ruled out of what would have been only his fifth game for Dallas after complaining of lower back tightness.

In Boston, Jayson Tatum returned in style with 38 points as the Celtics trounced Detroit 127-109.

Tatum, who missed Tuesday’s loss to Milwaukee, shot 15-of-24 from the field, including six from three-point range.

The Eastern Conference leaders improved to 42-17 with the victory and once more demonstrated their depth, with Malcolm Brogdon adding 25 off the bench.

Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pistons scoring with 28 points.

REUTERS, AFP

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