NEW ORLEANS — It’s one of the great mysteries in the NBA, why a team like the Lakers can look so competitive one night and so lost 24 hours later.
“Play harder” can be the core of every coaching message, the desire of every player and, for some reason, it doesn’t matter.
Some nights, and especially on the ones like Saturday in New Orleans, teams just don’t have it.
And no matter if the sneakers look as if they’re made of concrete or the jerseys of lead, those teams still try to win.
LeBron James has done it before. Saturday, he did it again, helping his team steal a 104-99 win. The Lakers have won five straight.
James hit back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter — punctuating the second with his signature “silencer” celebration — as he stomped his feet in glee. Max Christie, getting a surprise start because of injuries, sealed the win by stealing the Lakers an extra possession in the final seconds.
“It’s really hard to win a game in this league,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said he told his players Saturday morning. “It’s really hard to win on the road in this league, and it requires effort and toughness.”
Sometimes in circumstances like this, that counts for double.
Facing a Pelicans team so banged up that only three players featured in their pregame hype video actually played, the Lakers (9-4) were already facing a threat to their competitive focus.
And then the game started.
The Lakers looked as though they were trudging through the swamp — they were slow to rebounds, late to rotations and, uncharacteristically, a mess on offense.
James coughed the ball up. Anthony Davis had it squirt through his usually sure hands. And Austin Reaves, standing wide open in the corner, shot a three that hit the side of the backboard.
The malaise allowed New Orleans (4-10), which played the night before (albeit at home), to build a 15-point lead despite being without Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy and Jose Alvarado.
The Lakers, who won and looked sharp in San Antonio on Friday in NBA Cup play, still didn’t have Rui Hachimura because of an ankle injury. Cam Reddish, who had helped the Lakers go undefeated since his move to the starting five, also couldn’t play because of ankle and thumb injuries.
But Dalton Knecht, making his second start of the season, shot the Lakers back into the game in the third quarter, sparking the team’s competitiveness and effort. Knecht finished with 27 points.
And despite blowing a 10-point lead of their own, James and the Lakers did enough late to finish this quick road trip 2-0. James finished with 21 points and seven rebounds and Davis had 31 points and 14 rebounds.
The Lakers continue their NBA Cup schedule Tuesday at home against Utah.