A familiar foe could dash Lakers' postseason hopes

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (left) and forward Anthony Davis (right).

In 2019, the Lakers sent Brandon Ingram to the Pelicans as part of the Anthony Davis trade. Four years later, Ingram could have the last laugh.

On Sunday, the Lakers and Pelicans clash in their regular-season finale and the stakes couldn’t be higher. If the Lakers win, they jump to the eighth seed and get two cracks at making the postseason via the play-in. If the Pelicans emerge victorious, they secure the No. 6 seed and with it, a playoff berth.

The game will reportedly mark the return of Ingram, who missed New Orleans’ last 12 games with a left knee bone contusion.

According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Ingram is determined to return for the season finale and spoil his former team’s hopes of making the playoffs.

“Guess who is talking about making his return during that game? Brandon Ingram,” Shelburne said on Friday’s “NBA Today” on ESPN. “He loves to give his old team the business. He would love nothing more than to play spoiler, keep them [Pelicans] in the sixth, and send the Lakers to the 10th.”

The Pelicans will also have home-court advantage in Sunday’s crucial matchup. When the teams last squared off at the Smoothie King Center on Dec. 31, Ingram scored 26 points to help his team to a 129-109 win. However, the Lakers got the better of their conference rivals on Feb. 9 and Dec. 7 in their backyard.

After the Pelicans put away the Warriors on Friday, Zion Williamson downplayed the high-stakes clash against the Lakers as just another game.

“Every game is important,” Williamson said. “Sunday, we just have to handle business. We have to go out there and play a complete game from the first quarter to the fourth.”

Regardless of what Williamson says, the stakes for Sunday’s game couldn’t be higher. The outcome could shake up the first round of the Western Conference playoffs in more ways than one.

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