LeBron nears all-time field goals record in Lakers' win

LOS ANGELES — There are pretty wins, and then there are necessary wins. Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena fell squarely into the second category.

With under five minutes remaining and the Pelicans clinging to a 94-93 lead, the Lakers looked disjointed, turnover-prone and in danger of letting one slip. Then came the pivot.

Austin Reaves buried a right-wing three to give the Lakers a 96-94 edge. On the next trip, Luka Dončić drove hard into the paint, absorbed contact that went unwhistled and finished anyway — roaring back at the referee as the ball dropped through. It wasn’t subtle. It was emotional. It was the spark.

The Lakers never looked back.

They closed the game on a 24-7 run, outscoring New Orleans by 17 over the final seven minutes to secure a 110-101 win — their third straight. In a game that felt chaotic for long stretches, they were clinical when it mattered most.

At 17-5 in clutch games, the Lakers now own the best clutch win percentage in the NBA. Dončić pointed to something simple afterward.

“Purpose,” he said of the fourth-quarter surge.

And even he admitted it wasn’t pretty.

“Sometimes you gotta win by playing bad, that’s what good teams do,” Dončić said. “Obviously wasn’t our best game but we got the win.”

Luka’s Edge — and the Line He’s Walking

Dončić finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in 38 minutes, shaking off seven turnovers and a 3-for-10 night from deep. With under a minute left, he drilled the dagger three and — yes — let the officials hear about it again.

His technical foul was his 14th of the season. Two more means an automatic suspension, with 21 games remaining. This was just his first since Jan. 20. The balance between fire and control will matter. Especially with the standings tightening.

The Big Three — Imperfect, Effective

It wasn’t a masterpiece from the Lakers’ stars, but it was enough. LeBron James added 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 33 minutes, though he committed five turnovers and shot 1-for-5 from three. He now sits at 15,835 regular-season field goals — just three shy of passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15,837) for the all-time record.

JJ Redick made it clear there will be no stat-chasing.

“I wouldn’t coach a basketball game that way to try to get a guy a record,” Redick said. “He’ll get his record, and we’re trying to win a basketball game.”

James echoed the team-first tone when asked about lineup combinations with Dončić and Reaves.

“If I’m on the court, I just play with whoever’s on the floor with us. I don’t analyze lineups. It’s my job no matter who I’m on the floor with to try to make it happen.”

Reaves, meanwhile, contributed 15 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks — and perhaps the most honest quote of the night when discussing defending Zion Williamson.

“Don’t be scared to get out of the way, I was terrified,” Reaves said. “There was no way in hell I was taking a charge. He was running too fast. I just kind of slid out the way and let him have a layup.”

Defense, Energy and 12 Blocks

The Lakers forced the issue defensively, finishing with 12 total blocks — every starter recorded at least one. The Pelicans had just three. They generated 28 fast-break points to New Orleans’ 18 and survived 22 turnovers by compensating with rim protection and late-game execution.

James thought the defensive strides were real.

“I think we’ve made some strides defensively,” James said. “The man-to-man defense was pretty good. Jaxson and Marcus were great on that end and then everybody else trickled in as well.”

Smart and Hayes Change the Game

Marcus Smart described it as “chaotic.” He wasn’t wrong. But he also changed it.

Smart finished with 10 points, seven assists and four steals in 30 minutes, hounding ballhandlers and battling Zion throughout. Redick didn’t mince words.

“He gave us life tonight,” Redick said. 

Smart called it collective toughness.

“We were all in there, sacrificing our body,” Smart said. “Not once did anybody start freaking out or start panicking.”

On one sequence, guarding two players, Smart anticipated a pass and jumped the lane for a steal — the type of instinctual play that has defined his career.

“That’s what I do,” Smart said. “My mind works in that way and I made a great play for my team.”

Jaxson Hayes brought similar energy off the bench: eight points, six rebounds, two blocks and four critical offensive boards in 23 minutes.

“He’s a good basketball player that frankly, consistently injects energy into the group,” Redick said. Later, he added that Smart and Hayes “changed the game.”

Deandre Ayton was efficient as well, posting 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in 25 minutes.

The Bigger Picture

The Lakers improved to 37-24, just a half-game out of the fifth seed and only 1½ games behind third in the West. With 21 games remaining, the margin for error is thin — and nights like Tuesday, messy as they are, carry weight.

But when it tightened, they executed with purpose.

Sometimes that’s the mark of a team growing into something more than highlight reels and stat lines.  A team learning how to close. And right now, the Lakers are closing.