New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) goes to the goal between Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23), left, and forward/guard Luka Doncic (77), right, at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Tuesday, January 6, 2026. (Staff photo by Brett Duke, The Times-Picayune)
STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE
Luka Doncic had 30 points and 10 assists, LeBron James scored 30 points and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 111-103 on Tuesday night in the Smoothie King Center.
Deandre Ayton had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Marcus Smart scored 13 for the Lakers (23-11), who improved to 3-0 against New Orleans this season.
Trey Murphy scored a career-high 42 points, Zion Williamson had 15 and Derik Queen added 10 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Pelicans (8-30), who lost their eighth consecutive game, their second-longest losing streak of the season. Herb Jones, the Pelicans’ top defender, returned after a seven-game absence because of a sprained right ankle, but scored just three points. Saddiq Bey missed his third consecutive game because of a right hip flexor strain.
New Orleans completes a back-to-back and starts a three-game road trip at Atlanta on Wednesday night.
Murphy scored 14 of the Pelicans’ first 22 points in the third quarter as they extended their three-point halftime lead to 76-70. Doncic scored the next three points, but Murphy made a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play to push the lead to 86-79 at the end of the third quarter.
James sandwiched two 3-pointers around an assist on Jarred Vanderbilt’s basket during a 9-0 spurt to start the fourth-quarter scoring and give the Lakers a two-point lead. Queen made a layup for New Orleans’ first points of the quarter to tie the score at 88.
Ayton made consecutive field goals to help L.A. take a 97-90 lead midway through the period. New Orleans got within four points, but didn’t get any closer.
Doncic had 11 points and three assists and the Lakers had a 20-12 edge in points in the paint as L.A. took a 29-25 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Dalton Knecht made a 3-pointer to start the second-quarter scoring and give L.A. its biggest lead of the half. The score was tied twice and the lead changed hands five times during the rest of the quarter.
The final lead change came on a dunk by the Pelicans’ Yves Missi and Jose Alvarado added a floater with three seconds left, giving New Orleans a 54-51 halftime lead.
The Lakers played without their top two bench scorers — Austin Reaves (26.6), who missed his fifth straight game because of a left calf strain and Rui Hachimura (12.7), who missed his fourth consecutive game because of a right calf strain.