LOS ANGELES _ Their season imperiled, and their play stagnating, the Los Angeles Lakers got the burst of energy they needed in the third quarter from Kyle Kuzma with a soaring dunk.
Then Kuzma did it again. Then LeBron James joined the dunking party. Then Kuzma threw down one more.
"We needed that," Lakers coach Luke Walton said. "Energy had kind of gotten sucked out and we weren't making shots. ... It got the building going again."
Down by five just two minutes earlier, the Lakers went on a 10-1 run to pull ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans in a game they had to win.
It was one segment of a night filled with moments when the Lakers refused to let the game slip from their grasp. New Orleans never led by more than five points, and the Lakers secured their 30th win of the season, winning 125-119 at Staples Center. The win came after the Lakers lost back-to-back games to two of the Western Conference's worst teams in New Orleans and Memphis.
"When you're losing, you gotta fight and fight," Walton said. "Nothing's gonna come easy."
Former Laker Julius Randle scored a game-high 35 points for the Pelicans, just two more than James, who also added 10 assists and six rebounds. Rajon Rondo notched 16 assists with 11 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers, while Brandon Ingram scored 23 points and Kuzma scored 22.
The Lakers entered the night on a precarious ledge between the franchise's first playoff berth since 2013 and a crushing blow to their postseason hopes. The San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves and Lakers are all in contention for the seventh and eighth seeds in the Western Conference.
By the end of the night, the Lakers were three games behind the Clippers and Spurs, who are tied for the final two spots.
It was another game rife with subplots.
Like Paul George, and James before him, Anthony Davis came to Staples Center as a player the Lakers coveted and one for whom their fans thirsted. Last month, Davis told the Pelicans he wanted to be traded and the Lakers were among his preferred destinations. Lakers fans remembered. He was introduced pregame to the loudest cheer of any player other than James.
Because Davis is most valuable to the Pelicans as a trade asset, they have limited his playing time since the trade deadline. Their plan entering Wednesday's game was to play Davis for less than 25 minutes and not at all in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 22 points in 21 minutes and eight rebounds.
Rondo returned to the starting lineup with Walton starting Ingram and James at forward, Kuzma at center and Reggie Bullock and Rondo at guard.
"Rondo's a ... champion," Walton said of his mentality when choosing his lineup. "Let's see what happens. ... We needed to do something different because it wasn't working."
The Lakers opened the game with the intensity they needed, keeping a small lead over the Pelicans for most of the first quarter. After one, the Lakers led 35-28 with James (10 points) and Ingram (11 points) leading the way.
New Orleans fought back in the second quarter, even leading for a time, but the Lakers maintained their lead into halftime.
New Orleans' best chance came in the third quarter, when they led by five, but this was one the Lakers knew they couldn't lose. They pulled ahead with the Kuzma and James dunk-fest. New Orleans threatened late, but a three-pointer by James gave the Lakers a six-point cushion with 31.3 seconds left in the game.
"When he released it I'm pretty sure he called it," Walton said of James' shot. "That's what great players do. That's an impossible shot."
