NEW ORLEANS — The Los Angeles Lakers were never going to duck the Denver smoke.
They heard the chatter over the 48 hours leading into the No. 7 vs. No. 8 Play-In Tournament game between them and the New Orleans Pelicans. They heard that they should purposely lose to avoid playing the No. 2 seed Nuggets. The defending champs swept the season series with the Lakers and have won eight straight games against them overall dating back to January 2023.
As a result, a handful of national pundits suggested the Lakers would be better off losing Tuesday and taking their chances trying to win on Friday at home against either the No. 9 Sacramento Kings or the No. 10 Golden State Warriors (the Kings ended up advancing) — risking their season ending if they lost — and then playing the No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.
But that was never a consideration for the Lakers, who have won 12 of 15 games and are brimming with confidence. They planned for Tuesday’s game against the Pelicans as if their season was on the line — and they came out and played like it.
The result was a 110-106 win, a victory that elevated Los Angeles to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and set up a rematch with their Rocky Mountain foes in the first round. Game 1 is Saturday night in Denver.
Instead of running from the challenge that has stumped the Lakers for over a year, they’re running toward it.
“If they beat us, they beat us,” Anthony Davis told The Athletic of the Lakers’ mindset versus Denver. “We’re not ducking the smoke.”
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Nuggets loom, but Lakers are confident and ready for rematch: ‘We’re not ducking the smoke’
