The Lakers’ 124-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans in the regular-season finale on Sunday at Smoothie King Center, which secured eighth place in the Western Conference standings, left many with a sense of déjà vu.

The Lakers (47-35) played with a businesslike approach against New Orleans, led by LeBron James (28 points, 17 assists, 11 rebounds, five steals) and Anthony Davis (30 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals), much like they did in their semifinal victory over the Pelicans on December 7 in Las Vegas.

Coach Darvin Ham remarked, “You could just feel the vibe when we did our walkthrough [Saturday] at the hotel.” “We viewed a movie. Many players were dissatisfied with our performance in [Friday’s victory over the Memphis Grizzlies], as we made some blunders but did not entirely drop the rope. Simply attempting to ensure that, in terms of execution, we are as tight as possible on both sides of the ball.

James got things started by dishing out assists on the first seven Lakers points and taking on Zion Williamson’s defensive assignment, with the Lakers putting bodies in front of James to stop Williamson from driving to the goal.

In James’ words, “It just sets a tone.” “AD usually establishes that tone. a few additional men. However, Bron alone setting so much weight presents a significant task.

“What a fantastic basketball player that kid is.” It is an enormous task that he accepted. Furthermore, it serves as a reminder to the other members of our squad that a man of Bron’s caliber and experience is willing to stand up for a rising star like that. And men answered. Our level of activity was really high.

James recorded his fifth triple-double of the year.

Davis controlled the paint on both ends and was a major factor in the Pelicans finishing with just 42 points in the paint, while Williamson (12 points on 4-for-13 shooting) struggled to finish even when he got to his spots. Davis left the game late due to an undisclosed injury.

For 27 Lakers points, the Pelicans turned the ball over 19 times, with Williamson contributing four of those occasions.

After the Lakers’ victory and the Phoenix Suns’ season-ending victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road, the Lakers will remain in New Orleans to face the Pelicans (49-33) again on Tuesday in the 7-8 play-in tournament game. The winner of this game will determine the seventh seed in the West for the playoffs.

The winner of Tuesday’s game will face the Denver Nuggets, the second-seeded team in the playoffs, in the first round. The loser will host the winner of Tuesday’s 9–10 play-in game between the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors on Friday.

For the Lakers, the first forty-two minutes could not have gone any better.

The 21-year NBA veteran James set a new career record with 13 assists in the first half, helping the Lakers take a 70-53 advantage into halftime.

James explained, “I just tried to put the ball on time and on target for either jump shots or guys at the rim. I just read the game and found my teammates.” “I just tried to use my play as efficiently as possible.”

With a 13–4 run to start the second half, the Lakers led the Pelicans by a game-high 32 points (91–59) halfway through the third quarter.