New Orleans Pelicans eliminated by Golden State Warriors, 98-109
Everybody had a feeling the New Orleans Pelicans season would end at the hand of the Golden State Warriors, but man wouldn’t it have been fun for it to have lasted a little bit longer? New Orleans really made a series that could have been a blowout into four very competitive games. Perhaps if they had started off fame four similarly to the way they finished it then we would be talking about a Game 5, but alas that is not the case.
New Orleans entered tonight’s matchup down 3-0 in the series, coming off a heartbreaking loss in game 3 where they blew a 20 point fourth quarter lead, and then lost it in overtime. Obviously that’s an emotionally draining loss, and it was difficult to expect the Pelicans to come out and show the same kind of energy they had shown in games one through three.
They started off sluggish, and Golden State jumped out to a quick double digit lead. Anthony Davis and Eric Gordon played well early, but eventually the Warriors were too much for a drained Pelicans squad. Their lead reached 20 points, and the writing was on the wall. New Orleans season was coming to an end tonight, and the Warriors were making sure of that. All season Golden State has closed out when they needed to, and nothing was going to change that once they smelled blood.
However, New Orleans wasn’t going down without a fight. Perhaps a player pumped them up on the bench, or maybe Monty Williams pushed the right buttons like he’s done so often before. Either way, the Pelicans came into the fourth quarter a new team, and let the Warriors knew that they weren’t getting a sweep without a fight. The Pelicans cut the lead all the way down to single digits, and it looked like they just might pull off the comeback. Then, Steph Curry happened. Boom, a 3-pointer here. Bam, an insane shot over Anthony Davis here. Follow that up with the Pelicans season long inability to stop perimeter players from getting to the rim, and Golden State reminded New Orleans that there’s a reason they’re the top ranked team in the West.
Well, it was a fun season. The Pelicans showed huge improvement throughout the year, and proved to a lot of people that they’re actually building something. They made the playoffs despite playing a brutal division, and had a very successful year with a disappointing finish. Even so, it’s hard to not see the playoffs next season with the Pelicans in it. The future is brighter than it once looked.
109. 41. 98. 69. Final
TYREKE EVANS. D. <strong><a href=. PG/SG/SF. New Orleans Pelicans
A. If Evans had his worst game of the season then <strong><a href=. SG. New Orleans Pelicans. ERIC GORDON
New Orleans Pelicans. QUINCY PONDEXTER. C. Another great game for <strong><a href=. SG/SF
A+. Anthony Davis made himself known to the casual NBA fan this series. He averaged 30 points and merely added to that average with 36 points in game four. He pulled down 11 rebounds and even got to the line for nine free throw attempts. His defense wasn’t as good as many hoped, but that might have been due to him trying to do everything at once. Davis was a monster and at only 22 years old it’s crazy to think how much better he can become.. PF/C. New Orleans Pelicans. ANTHONY DAVIS
F. Oh <strong><a href=. C. New Orleans Pelicans. OMER ASIK
Ryan Anderson played better in game three, but just having the threat of him hitting a 3-pointer made lineups with him and Anthony Davis better than lineups with Omer Asik and Anthony Davis. As for tonight, he only made two 3-pointers, but he did pull down six rebounds and dish out a surprising four assists. However, it’s hard to get excited about a game where he scored 10 points on 11 shots even when he contributed in other ways.. SF/PF. New Orleans Pelicans. RYAN ANDERSON. C+
PG. New Orleans Pelicans. JRUE HOLIDAY. C-. It was nice to see Jrue Holiday back in actin for the playoffs, but it couldn’t have come against a worse opponent. The Warriors are not a team to shake off the rust against, and that’s what he had to attempt. The minutes restriction was probably a good thing cause Holiday might have ended up hurting the Pelicans had he played more. He only scored four points while dishing out four assists. His performance was pretty forgettable, and his defense wasn’t what it used to be due to his return from injury. Hopefully the Pelicans finally get a healthy season out of Holiday next year.
A. <strong><a href=. SF/PF. New Orleans Pelicans. DANTE CUNNINGHAM
NORRIS COLE. F. <strong><a href=. PG. New Orleans Pelicans
C. New Orleans Pelicans. ALEXIS AJINCA. INC. <strong><a href=