Hayes and Smart ignite 4th quarter fire in Lakers comeback win

Midway through the fourth quarter, the game felt like it was slipping away. You could sense it in the restless murmurs and groans rolling through downtown LA’s sold-out Crypto.com Arena.The crowd had seen this movie play out before. The Lakers, playing against a bottom-dwelling team in the standings, build up an early double-digit lead only to see it slip away when the fourth quarter rolls around.

The script looked painfully familiar. With 7:19 remaining Tuesday night, the Pelicans had taken a 94–86 lead, their largest of the game.The Lakers had just finished a flurry of missed rotations, careless turnovers and nonstop arguing with the referees.They looked lost.

They were minutes away from falling further in the Western Conference standings and into the dreaded play-in line. That’s when Lakers’ head coach JJ Redick called a timeout and made the smallest change on the whiteboard that ended up altering the game. Out went DeAndre Ayton. In came Jaxson Hayes. What followed was not subtle.It was an injection of energy and effort that might have saved the Lakers from a single-elimination game in four weeks. Hayes sprinted the floor like a man determined to drag the Lakers back into the fight by sheer willpower.

Seconds after the timeout, he exploded to the rim for a dunk that didn’t just stop New Orleans’ momentum — it shocked the whole building awake. Hayes wasn’t finished.He blocked Zion Williamson’s next shot, grabbed the rebound and hustled down the floor.

The result was a three-pointer by Austin Reaves. Marcus Smart could feel the energy shifting.After a LeBron James block he grabbed the ball and started a fast break in transition.

He got fouled.Headed to the line and sank two free throws. “Those types of plays are contagious.

Especially on the defensive end,” Smart said of Hayes’ sequence.“Jaxon came in and changed the game for us.

That got us all going.”On the Lakers next possession, Luke Kennard shot a corner-three tha...