The Lakers won three of four games against the Pelicans this season – all by at least 16 points – but Tuesday’s immediate rematch in New Orleans is akin to Game 2 of a playoff series.
LeBron James, right, and the Lakers will tangle with Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans again on Tuesday in a play-in game to decide which teams gets the No. 7 seed in the the Western Conference playoffs. NEW ORLEANS — Because of the way the Western Conference’s Play-In Tournament bracket shook out, the Lakers’ Tuesday matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center could be viewed similarly to Game 2 of a playoff series.
“We just got to go compete like we did ,” Austin Reaves said of Tuesday’s matchup. “If we do that, we’ll put ourselves in a good situation. “Tuesday’s game is going to be extremely hard, extremely difficult, extremely physical,” LeBron James said. “I’ve always known that, when you play a playoff series – and I look at this like a two-game playoff series – if you win that first game, a team has multiple days to kind of sit on that feeling, or sit with that taste in their mouth of defeat. So they’re going to be extremely ready for us and we have to come in with the same sense of urgency that we had the previous game.
The 39-year-old James, who is in the midst of his 21st NBA season, might not be able to bring that level of defensive play every night during the regular season.But with postseason play on the horizon, James will have more to offer on that end of the court – which was evident on Sunday.
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