LOS ANGELES_Two years after the Los Angeles Lakers said they would absolutely not consider trading Brandon Ingram, and three years after they called Lonzo Ball the face of the franchise, the pair of No. 2 overall draft picks heard their names announced during pregame introductions in Staples Center as members of the visiting New Orleans Pelicans.
The crowd mostly cheered. Later a tribute video played in the arena, welcoming them back with clips of some of the better moments they experienced as members of the Lakers.
The game started with a three-pointer from Ball, but throughout the course of Friday night's play game it became clear why the Lakers sacrificed the two promising young players along with Josh Hart to get better.
The Lakers defeated the Pelicans 123-113 and Anthony Davis, for whom the three were traded, scored 46 points, after scoring 41 against the Pelicans in their first meeting. Ingram and Ball also had a productive night: Ball finished with 23 points and Ingram with 22.
"When he gets an easy bucket or two early in the game that sets the tone for the rest of the night," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of Davis.
LeBron James scored 17 points and had 15 assists while Danny Green finished with 25 points.
"I thought we played a better basketball game this time around," Vogel said in comparison to the first game against the Pelicans. " ... Even when they were making runs I felt like we were in control."
When asked if the game was personal to Davis, Vogel said he felt otherwise.
"I felt like it was the opposite throughout the day," Vogel said. "I felt like it was just another game. To me noticing him and our team it felt like a much more emotional game than when we played back in New Orleans."
Like in their game against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, the Lakers started hot. They scored 42 points in the first quarter, making 60.9% of their shots, led by Green, who made five first-quarter threes and scored 17 points.
The Lakers had hoped to take a lesson from their win over the Suns. Despite having a 36-point lead, the Suns cut their deficit to five in the fourth quarter and ultimately lost by 10. In looking back, they saw complacency in themselves once they'd built that big lead, and a failure to react to the Suns' adjustments.
Because Phoenix made the game so close, James and Davis had to play in the fourth quarter after Vogel had planned to sit them.
On Friday night, the Lakers started the fourth quarter with a 22-point lead, and again their opponent made a run. The Pelicans scored nine unanswered points to open the quarter.
New Orleans cut the Lakers' lead to single digits with a short jumper from Ball.
With less than four minutes remaining, Davis elevated to catch a lob from James. With Ingram clinging to his bicep, Davis scored to extend the Lakers' lead to 11.
Later back-to-back dunks by Ball and Ingram cut the Lakers' lead to seven. Once again, though, the Lakers had enough to withstand a motivated opponent's counterpunch.
