Luka Doncic scored 35 points and Austin Reaves added 30 as the Los Angeles Lakers helped their prospects for a top-four finish in the Western Conference with a 124-108 victory over the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.
LeBron James produced 27 points and eight assists and Jaxson Hayes had 12 rebounds with six points as the Lakers won in advance of a back-to-back road set against the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday and Tuesday.
The Lakers (47-30) pulled a half-game ahead of the fourth-place Denver Nuggets as Reaves went 6 of 9 from 3-point range and set a franchise record with 15 made 3-pointers in consecutive games.
Jose Alvarado scored 27 points and Karlo Matkovic added 15 for the Pelicans (21-56), who are finishing off the season without Zion Wiliamson (back) and CJ McCollum (foot). Yves Missi had 13 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans, which has just three wins in the past 11 games and has not won consecutive contests since late February.
Los Angeles took a 93-84 lead into the fourth quarter and was up 104-95 before going on a 6-2 run to take a 13-point lead with 5:55 left on a layup from James.
The Lakers essentially sealed the victory when Reaves threw a long-range pass to James for an alley-oop dunk with 4:09 remaining for a 114-99 lead. James, who sustained a right thumb injury in the first half, scored 14 points in the fourth quarter after going scoreless in the third.
The Pelicans got off to a fast start, leading 30-25 after one quarter. New Orleans held a seven-point advantage early in the second before the Lakers grabbed the lead for good at 45-44 with 6:43 remaining in the half on a Jordan Goodwin layup.
Los Angeles led 62-53 at halftime, with James and Doncic each scoring 13 points before the break. Alvarado had 18 for the Pelicans.
The Lakers finished with a 3-0 record against the Pelicans this season.
