LeBron James spoke to reporters after the Los Angeles Lakers’ 110-101 comeback win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.
“We’re on the 24 to 7 run to close out the fourth there for you guys. What’ you like on both ends of the floor? No, we got stops,” James said, describing the decisive stretch that sealed the victory.
He credited the team’s defense for sparking the rally. “We turned a lot of those stops into fast break opportunities. Helped us seal the game,” he added.
James highlighted the influence of Marcus Smart: “It’s just a winning player. He’s always have been. You know ever since I started watching at Oklahoma State all the way to being a pro. So just always make winning plays.”
Reflecting on the team’s defensive progress, he noted: “I think we’ve made some strides defensively. We didn’t play much at all zone tonight. We started the game off with it, we kind of went away from it. So I thought our man-to-man defense was pretty good.”
On evaluating lineups, James explained: “It’s just go by feel for it. I just if I’m on the court, I just play with whoever’s on the floor with us. I don’t analyze lineups, things of that nature. It’s my job to, no matter who I’m on the floor with, to try to make happen, make plays.”
The Lakers’ late surge came after an eight-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter. “We got stops. We defended at a high level like you said we had seven blocks in the fourth,” James said. “So it’s big time for us and we were able to get out and get some early transition points as well.”
He also addressed the physicality of the contest: “Well, we knew we wasn’t playing against their record tonight. We know when they’ve been whole, what type of team they’ve been. So we came in with that mindset understanding the type of team that we playing.”
James finished with reflections on team execution: “The record is what it is but a lot of athletes on the court tonight, a lot of physicality, and you guys haven’t always performed well against teams like that. But we were able to compete with them athletically, pretty consistently.”
The Lakers improved to 37-24, extending their winning streak to three games, with James contributing 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. The fourth-quarter dominance was highlighted by a 24-7 run, fueled by stops, blocks and transition opportunities.
Marcus Smart finished with 10 points, seven assists, four steals and three blocks, while Luka Doncic added 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Austin Reaves also played a key role, hitting a go-ahead three-pointer late in the fourth to put Los Angeles ahead.
