NBA: Pelicans thrash the Lakers and Warriors also lose

(Basketball news) The new-look New Orleans Pelicans beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-95. For the Pelicans, McCollum scored 22 points while Jonas Valanciunas and Brandon Ingram added 19 apiece as the 28-point margin of victory is the largest in franchise history by the Pelicans over the Lakers. For the Lakers, LeBron James led them with 32 points but also had seven turnovers, tying a season high. It was James' 500th game in which he has scored at least 30 points, becoming the third player in NBA history to accomplish that as Carmelo Anthony had 13 points off the bench and Dwight Howard finished with 11 rebounds. With this result the Pelicans improved their record to 25-36 and just a position behind the Lakers who are well below the .500 mark this season.

''A great way to start (coming out of the All-Star break) is to get these two wins,'' Pelicans coach Willie Green said.

''I don't have an answer for tonight. They went into Phoenix, beat them, and obviously beat the doors off us today,'' James said.

''Teams are coming in and playing harder. I believe that's their scouting report – just play harder than them and see what happens. And it's working,'' said Russell Westbrook, who had 16 points and seven turnovers. ''We have to have the determination that's not going to happen on our home floor or it is going to continue to happen to us.''

''It's always fun when everybody's involved on the offensive and defensive end,'' Ingram said. ''We were just out there having fun, laughing, and playing the game the right way. Everybody contributed in a big way tonight.''

The Golden State Warriors suffered a shock defeat to the Dallas Mavericks 107-101. For the Mavericks, Donic had 34 points, 11 rebounds and nine turnovers as new addition Spencer Dinwiddie scored 10 of his 24 points in the final period for them. For the Warriors, Steph Curry had 27 points and 10 assists, Andrew Wiggins added 18 points, Kevon Looney grabbed 10 rebounds to go with eight points and five assists as Klay Thompson sat out with an illness after missing practice Saturday. With this result the Mavericks improved on their record to 36-25 and sit comfortably in 5th place in the Western Conference standings, for the Warriors they remained second with a record of 43-18.

''I think we let our offense dictate our energy and our spirit in the game,'' Looney said. ''… We kind of folded when adversity hit.''

''I think it's actually good to go through and feel it because this is what it feels like in the playoffs,'' coach Steve Kerr said. ''This is what it feels like when you're playing a really good team, the game's never over.''

'Energy, effort, execution under pressure, that's the name of the game,'' Kerr said

''It was good to be back on campus,'' Kidd said, joking how he has former Stanford star Dwight Powell on his roster

Also read: James Harden makes his debut for the 76ers and the Lakers lose again

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