LeBron James returns in win, lauds Lakers' trade deadline pickups

LOS ANGELES — The Lakers' first impression of their revamped roster Wednesday was also the last look they would get as a team before the All-Star break. And it was a good one.

«I think we're going to continue to build off tonight,» LeBron James said after scoring 21 points in the Lakers' 120-102 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, playing for the first time since L.A. overhauled its team at the trade deadline. «I think our skill sets all kind of fit each other.»

L.A. trotted out its 30th different starting lineup in its 59th game of the season — the most in the NBA — but this one, featuring three recently acquired players in D'Angelo Russell at point guard, Malik Beasley at shooting guard and Jarred Vanderbilt at power forward, seemed to click right away.

The Lakers jumped to a 12-2 lead and didn't look back, pushing their advantage to as many as 20 against a Pelicans team they're trying to catch in the Western Conference playoff picture.

«It was good,» said Anthony Davis, who led L.A. with 28 points on 13-for-17 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds and two blocks. «One, for us to get on the winning side of things going into the break, to feel good about ourselves and not let a loss kind of linger over the next six, seven days.… But for standings purposes, it's also a good win for us.»

At 27-32 overall, the Lakers are 13th in the West — two games out of the 10th seed and final play-in spot and 3½ games out of the sixth seed, which guarantees a first-round berth without the play-in tournament.

«We got a lot of work to do still,» James said, who returned against the Pelicans following a three-game absence because of a sore left foot and ankle. «And every game is going to be tough for us, especially going down the stretch,