Five takeaways from the Lakers' loss to the New Orleans Pelicans

Five takeaways from the Lakers’ loss to the New Orleans Pelicans

Lakers guard Wayne Ellington throws down a dunk against the Pelicans in the second half.

By Eric Pincus

Dec. 8, 2014 7 AM PT

The Lakers (5-16) lost their third-straight game on Sunday, falling to the New Orleans Pelicans (9-10). Here are five takeaways from their 104-87 defeat on Sunday at Staples Center.

1) Coach Byron Scott changed the Lakers’ lineup but the result wasn’t especially different. The team played reasonably well defensively in the first half but couldn’t score. They didn’t play well defensively in the second half and still couldn’t score. Scott noted after the game he intends to give Ed Davis and Ronnie Price (over Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin) a good 10-15 game run before tinkering with the starting five again, if necessary.

2) The Lakers, under Coach Mike D’Antoni, used 35 different starting lineups last season -- continually dealing with a high volume of injuries. While the Lakers have four players out, three for the season (Steve Nash, Xavier Henry, Julius Randle and, temporarily, Ryan Kelly), the starting group has stayed relatively intact save for one game Boozer sat with a minor shoulder issue. The Lakers used just three different starting lineups of the season in their 21st game -- well behind last season’s pace.

3) Nick Young pretty much summed up the loss Sunday: “We couldn’t find a way to put the ball in the hole. And it wasn’t just one person, it was everybody.”

4) Wayne Ellington quietly had a solid game, despite Young’s declarative statement. In 16 minutes, Ellington scored 10 points on four-of-seven shooting and he made two three-point shots. He was also the only Laker with a positive plus-minus for the game. While he was on the court, the Lakers outscored the Pelicans by a single point. Kobe Bryant was on the other end of the spectrum at minus 18.

5) Bryant is now 62 points away from tying Michael Jordan on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Jordan finished his career at 32,292 and Bryant is two or three games away from overtaking the Hall of Famer for third place. Karl Malone is second at 36,928 and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is No. 1 at 38,387. Bryant has scored more than 62 points in a game before, but the milestone probably won’t be reached on Tuesday when the Lakers host the Sacramento Kings (10-10).

Email Eric Pincus at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.