Image Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves’ top performers as Lakers go 3rd in the Western Conference!

The Lakers' second-quarter surge helped them to counter the Pelicans in pursuit of the NBA playoffs.

Image Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers squeezed past the New Orleans Pelicans 124-108 on Friday night to reach third in the Western Conference. After struggling against the Warriors in a 123-116 loss a night earlier, the Lakers improved in the offense to get a crucial win at Crypto.com Arena.

Luka Doncic scored a game-high 35 points on 10-for-21 shooting and Austin Reaves added 30 for the Lakers. The former missed his first seven shots following a poor outing against Golden State. LeBron James chipped in 27 points and eight assists. Lakers now maintained their grip on third place after the favourable result in the Nuggets-Warriors matchup.

LAKERS KEEP RISING, NOW 3RD IN THE WEST 👀📈

Luka: 35p, 6r, 6a
Reaves: 30p, 7a, 6 3pm
LeBron: 27p, 8a pic.twitter.com/wxF5F6TcHu
— NBA (@NBA) April 5, 2025

Also Read:

Lakers come back strong after trailing in the first quarter against the Pelicans

The Lakers were being exploited several times on the defensive end against the Warriors and errors continued in the opening quarter of the game. Despite a 10-3 start in the game, the Lakers dropped the first quarter 25-30. Alvarado scored 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the first period and capitalized on the Lakers’ sluggish start.

Los Angeles sparked a 16-6 run at the midway of the second period to take control of the game. The Lakers held a 62-53 lead at halftime, courtesy of Doncic’s 11 points and James’ 10 in the second quarter. JJ Redick’s side made all nine of their shots from inside the 3-point line in this period.

THIS REAVES TO LEBRON ALLEY-OOP IN THE LAKERS W 😱 pic.twitter.com/y2V2ySE8NI
— NBA (@NBA) April 5, 2025

Meanwhile, New Orleans extended a 12-3 spurt to make it 76-77 with 5:30 left in the third quarter. Doncic-Reaves duo pulled it back with a 16-8 run to close the period with a nine-point advantage. The Lakers maintained the grip on the game in the fourth quarter and stretched the lead to double-digit.

Nuggets’ loss to Warriors benefits the Lakers

On the other side, the Golden State Warriors overcame the Denver Nuggets 118-104 to benefit the Lakers, who are chasing the third seed in the West. The Rockets’ stunning victory over the Thunder cleared the gap with the Lakers (No. 3) and the Nuggets (No. 4) for the second seed.

The Warriors go into their final five games leading those behind them by one full game with the Rockets coming to town on Sunday. The Nuggets lead the Warriors by 0.5 games for the fourth-seed. Warriors are strongly coming for the fourth seed and the playoffs race becomes tight.

The Lakers will play the Thunder twice in their upcoming three-game road trip. They will also have a game against the Rockets so it won’t be easy for them to retain their third spot. Their potential rivals, the Nuggets will take an advantage if top-seed Thunder outplay the Lakers in a two-game set.

Image Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Austin Reaves

Golden State Warriors

Lakers

Luka Doncic

Gulshan Sharma

nba

soccer

wnba

A native of Jaipur, Rajasthan, journalist, and a complete soccer and basketball fan, he found the huge interest with basketball by watching videos of Allen Iverson and Tony Parker, but fell head over heels in love with the sport during the Warriors’ championship era (2015-2018). A sports game addict since his late PS1, he’s also passionate about the Eagles, Inter Miami and the Fever. He’s fortunate to have seen all his favorite teams win championships. He also has a special love for cricket and football (soccer), where he is a fan of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barcelona.