The New Orleans Pelicans donned purple, green and gold Mardi Gras uniforms and their larger-than-life-size King Cake Baby waiting in the visitors’ hallway, but the Lakers were the ones celebrating after the final buzzer.
So how were the Lakers able to spoil New Orleans’ festivities?
“Kobe Bryant,” head coach Byron Scott answered, laughing. “It ain’t no secret.”
Indeed, the future Hall of Famer’s presence hardly went under the radar, as Bryant treated the home crowd to 27 points and a season-best 12 rebounds, while pushing the Lakers past their hosts, 99-96, on Thursday night.
Though Anthony Davis countered with 39 points — his second-highest output of the season — with 11 rebounds, he couldn’t prevent the Lakers from winning back-to-back games.