The Los Angeles Lakers breathed easier on Sunday night after DeAndre Ayton brushed aside a late-game injury scare against the New Orleans Pelicans, knocking knees with Derik Queen in the fourth quarter before walking off with trainers. It looked tense in real time. It looked like another setback for a player who recently missed time with an injury. But Ayton ended the night with clarity, calm, and a message Lakers fans needed to hear. “It cooled down … I’m good now,” he told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. He added, “JJ said he was gonna sub me out regardless, so it was good timing and cool down after the game.”

DeAndre Ayton’s quick dismissal of the concern felt like a lift for a team that has battled depth issues all season. In fact, his presence stabilizes the Lakers’ interior sets, their rebounding patterns, and the timing of their defensive rotations. He protects space and cleans the glass. He also gives their offense a vertical threat that opponents must respect. Even a brief absence would have shifted the tone of a night the Lakers were controlling.

Lakers keep rolling as Ayton shrugs off scare

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Lakers won over the Pelicans, 133–121. Ayton finished with 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting, went perfect at the line, grabbed 12 rebounds, and blocked four shots. With that, the Lakers now sit at 15–4, second in the West, riding a seven-game winning streak that’s pushing their confidence higher each night. And while his impact echoed through the box score, his postgame update may have mattered even more.

As it turned out, the late collision didn’t linger. The swelling didn’t rise. The concern didn’t grow. DeAndre Ayton walked out steady, smiling, and sounding like someone who didn’t feel an injury scare at all. Now, that next challenge arrives quickly. The Lakers face the Suns next, and Ayton is expected to play.

So the question shifts to the fans: if he stays healthy and this streak keeps stretching, how high can the Lakers push this run?