The win over the Pelicans gives JJ Redick memories of a hot start to the season

ByNBAUSA


The The Los Angeles Lakers have been solving problemsas a three-game losing streak a week ago had some fans panicking about the state of the team. Since then, however, the Lakers have won three straight games, including a 110-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.

It was a defensive masterclass that paved the way for the Lakers to run away with the win. They outscored the Pelicans 34-23 in the final frame, and had stretches where they got hold of Pelicans players on every drive. This showed the advantage a team can have defensively when they have active hands and are locked in as a unit.

In fact, this win impressed the Lakers head coach JJ Redick to the point where he compared this to the kind of winning streak they had earlier in the season when they began the 2025-26 campaign with a 15-4 record.

“Honestly, it’s not a win that we’ve probably had since November when we’re down. A lot of those early wins when we started 15-4, we had a run of double-digit deficits in the second half and we just stuck with it and kept playing. It was a good win for us to be able to do that again,” Redick said in his postgame diary of Benjamin Royer.

The Lakers answer the Pelicans

Lakers guard Marcus Smart (36) shoots against the Boston Celtics during the second half at Cripto.com Arena
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Redick also credited Marcus Smart and Jaxon Hayes for stepping up and helping the Lakers assert themselves defensively in the second half, which ultimately led to a comfortable victory.

“A big emphasis for us before the game and on film was just our physicality. You have to match the physicality of Zion. Match the physicality of Saddick Bey. I thought Smart was amazing tonight. Him and Jackson in the second half when we got back into the game defensively as well. They helped us win. They changed the game,” Redick.





2026-03-04 07:17:00

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