Los Angeles Lakers @ New Orleans Pelicans
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 at 8:00 PM ET
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA | Game ID: 22500514
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NOP 25 29 32 17 103LAL 29 22 28 32 111
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
James and Doncic each score 30 to help the Lakers hold off the Pelicans 111-103
NEW ORLEANS -- — LeBron James scored 30 points, Luca Doncic capped his 30-point, 10-assist performance with a pair of off-balance, bail-out 3s as the shot clock wound down, and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the reeling New Orleans Pelicans 111-103 on Tuesday night.
Deandre Ayton had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who won for the fourth time in their past five games while sending the Pelicans to their eighth straight loss.
Trey Murphy scored a career-high 41, Zion Williamson scored 15 points and rookie Derik Queen had 10 points and 13 rebounds for New Orleans, which led by as many as nine points late in the third quarter.
The Lakers opened the fourth quarter on a 18-4 run that included two deep 3s by James, a 3 by Dalton Knecht and a pair of baskets in the paint by Ayton. The surge put Los Angeles up 97-90 and the Pelicans could not get closer than four after that.
Neither team led by more than seven until Karlo Matkovic 's free throws gave New Orleans an 83-74 lead late in the third quarter.
James' three free throws and breakaway dunk quickly trimmed the Lakers' deficit to four before Murphy, who had 20 points in the third quarter, hit a driving reverse scoop as he was fouled to make it 86-79 heading to the final period.
Herb Jones, returning from a right ankle injury that has sidelined him seven games, struggled with his shooting, missing eight of nine shots. The Pelicans missed five of their 18 free throws, with Williamson missing four.
The Lakers also finished shooting 50.6% (43 of 85). The Pelicans shot 44% (40 of 91) and missed 30 of the 40 3-pointers they attempted.
Up next Both clubs play on Wednesday night, when the Lakers visit the San Antonio Spurs and the Pelicans visit the Atlanta Hawks .
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
LALDA D. Ayton
DK D. Knecht
DO Doncic
JH J. Hayes
JL J. LaRavia
JV J. Vanderbilt
LD L. Dončić
LJ L. James
MS M. Smart
NS N. Smith Jr.
NOPDQ D. Queen
HJ H. Jones
JA J. Alvarado
JF J. Fears
JP J. Poole
KM K. Matković
MP M. Peavy
TM T. Murphy III
YM Y. Missi
ZW Z. Williamson
LAL/NOP the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur