Seven times.
Since the Lakers listlessly began their post-All-Star break stretch with a disappointing loss against Charlotte, they’ve played seven times.
Seven times in 13 days.
They won in Portland, they dominated in Denver. They beat the Mavericks, they bested the Timberwolves and took care of the Clippers twice. And Tuesday, on a night where some kind of letup felt like a possibility if not an all-out likelihood, they dominated New Orleans 136-115 after the Pelicans won four of their previous five.
It’s the Lakers longest winning streak of the season.
“We know what we want to do every night,” LeBron James said.
Energy and complacency were never issues for them Tuesday, not with Luka Doncic skipping after made threes and posing after no-look passes, not with James making history and then making big play after big play and not with the Lakers, once again, playing with the kind of full-throttle effort that has them in second place in the Western Conference.
Doncic made six threes, including three straight during one wild stretch of dominance in the first quarter, on his way to 30 points. And for as much as his shot-making knocked the Pelicans back early, his passing put them away. He found Jaxson Hayes over and over again at the rim for easy lobs and he swung to the open corner shooter whenever the rim was covered.
His 15 assists tied a season high.
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James, who entered the game one point shy of 50,000 total in regular season and playoff scoring, got across the threshold with a first quarter three before making four more. He scored 34 to lead the Lakers, along with eight rebounds and six assists, either he or Doncic perfectly picking the opposition apart at all times.
“In order for us to be the team ultimately we need to be, the ball needs to be in Luka’s hands,” James said. “And then when Luka sits down, the ball can be in my hands or be AR’s hands when he gets back. But I’m very comfortable playing off the ball and finding my spots, running the floor, getting the outlet pass from Luka, being on the backside of the defense if he’s either being blitzed in pick-and-rolls or switched in pick-and-rolls. He attracts so many eyes and bodies.
“I’ve been very blessed to be able to be adaptable to whatever team I’ve been on throughout my career, to be able to change. And this is another instance and I’m looking forward to that.”
Fittingly, Doncic got the assist on James’ milestone bucket.
“Yeah, it’s amazing,” Doncic said. “Watching him do this stuff at this age, it’s just unbelievable like 50k points… it’s I can’t even explain how insane that is. He might get to 70k, you never know.”
The Lakers, still without Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves, got 13 points from Dalton Knecht and 12 each from Jared Vanderbilt and Shake Milton.
Zion Williamson led New Orleans with 37 points, but the Lakers flew around the court and stifled everyone else. And even though they turned the ball over 15 times for 24 Pelican points, the game was never really in danger, particularly late as James and Doncic were much too good.
“Tonight, we made three different adjustments on (Williamson), didn’t work. He was that good tonight. We didn’t get discouraged,” JJ Redick said. “It didn’t allow us to get frustrated offensively. It didn’t take us out of our execution. We stayed very connected. Even with some turnovers, I just thought our approach to the game was really good tonight.”
And their talent — it’s looking like it might be too much for most teams to handle.
With Doncic on the court Tuesday, the Lakers were 37 points better than the Pelicans, the Lakers figuring him out as much as he’s figuring out the Lakers.
“I think it’s getting better and better.,” Doncic said. “…And it’s just, it’s about talking about things, what things I like, what things they like, and what’s going to make it easier to win.”
The team wraps their six-game homestand Thursday with another big game, this one against the New York Knicks. Reaves, who was questionable to play Tuesday before being downgraded, could return before the team heads out for a four-game trip.
“I’m still getting that rhythm,” Doncic said. “But at the end of the day, it’s about winning games and we’re doing that now and we can’t relax at all.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
