Coach

Anthony Davis, Pelicans Crush Lakers' Hearts

Anthony Davis scored 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the first half

On Valentine's Day, Anthony Davis broke the Los Angeles Lakers' hearts with 42 points, 15 rebounds, three steals, three assists and two blocks in a wire-to-wire 139-117 victory.

The game started with an eventful first quarter where the Lakers showed that they had left their forgotten their defense at home, meaning this date could turn ugly in a hurry. The New Orleans Pelicans scored 46 points in the first 12 minutes and led by as many as 23 points during the opening quarter, as they stepped on the Lakers' exposed hearts without any mercy.

In that first quarter, the Lakers dug a hole so massive that they were likely receiving job offers from cemeteries across New Orleans.

In addition, former Boston Celtics point guards Isaiah Thomas and Rajon Rondo began verbally jabbing with one another and quickly earned ejections from the game. Prior to the jawing, Davis sufferred a groin injury and went back to the locker room area, but when the second quarter started, the "Unibrow" was on the court ready to ruin the Lakers' night.

By halftime, Davis already had 31 points and eight rebounds, and the Pelicans would have been completely out of sight had Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma not run in off the bench to perform mouth-to-mouth on the Lakers. Kuzma scored 19 points in that first half, and thanks to the Flint, Michigan native, the Lakers only trailed by 13 points at the break: 79-66.

By the time the second half came around, Lakers coach Luke Walton had also joined Thomas in earning an expulsion from the court. Without their coach, Walton's men quickly trimmed the difference to only two points and looked ready to win the game against the longest odds, which is what Valentine's Day is all about, of course.

Sadly for the Lakers, this was a story of heart break. The Pelicans put up the fence and filed the restraining order. By the time the clock wound down, the Pelicans sat securely in their home, softly petting a 139-point performance, which tied a franchise record. The Pelicans won by 22 points, as the Lakers found a dark locker room to drown their sorrows and mend their broken hearts.

Brandon Ingram and Julius Randle both played efficient offensive games, as did rookie Josh Hart, but the inability to stop Davis and shoot down positive performances from Jrue Holiday, Nikola Mirotic and Darius Miller helped pull the plug on the Lakers' hopes.

Holiday, who attended UCLA, finished with 24 points, 11 assists, four rebounds and four steals in the victory, while Mirotic and Miller combined for 35 points, 10 rebounds and six assists off the Pelicans' bench.

For the Lakers, Ingram finished with 21 points, five assists and five turnovers, while Randle finished with 20 points, five rebounds, three assists and four turnovers. While both Ingram and Randle shot the ball at a high percentage, both forwards shared blame when analyzing the 20-11 turnover differential between the two teams.

Kuzma finished as the Lakers' leading scorer with 23 points off the bench despite not attempting a single foul shot on the night.

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With the defeat, the Lakers dropped to 23-33 on the season. Next, the Lakers play in Minnesota on Thursday night before hitting the All-Star break and taking a much-needed break.

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