As far as revenge games narratives go, most NBA players involved usually try their best to play down such moments. This isn't the case for New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, who himself admitted that he gets a bit too excited at times when facing his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
These two sides met on Sunday, with L.A. coming away with a 122-114 victory at New Orleans' Smoothie King Center. Ingram spoke after the game, saying that he feels he could have had a better performance against his former team:
“I’ve got to do a better job of executing,” Ingram said, via William Guillroy of The Athletic. “I think I get so hyped up in these games, I tend to force some shots instead of letting the game come to me. I think they did a good job. We had some open shots, we just didn’t make them.”
The Lakers were able to keep Ingram at bay in this one, as the 22-year-old finished with 15 points on an inefficient 5-of-23 shooting. The former second overall pick also went just 1-of-9 from distance, while also turning the ball over three times. This game would have been more lopsided had it not been for the outstanding effort from Pelicans phenom Zion Williamson, who dropped a game-high 35 points (12-of-16 from the field, 11-of-13 from the line), along with seven rebounds, six turnovers, and nothing else.
Ingram joined the Pelicans last summer as part of the Anthony Davis deal. He has been outstanding for New Orleans all season long — earning his first-ever All-Star nod this term — but the Lakers just have their number, with Sunday's victory making it 4-0 in favor of L.A. in the season series.
The young Pelicans star struggled with his shooting in three of those four losses, so he'll need to figure out how to channel his fire in these games against his former team. This is especially true since the Pelicans and Lakers may face off in the playoffs.
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