New Orleans Pelicans Player Grades: Pelicans lose a close one to the Atlanta Hawks
By Rick Stone
The New Orleans Pelicans had the lead after the first quarter of play for the first time this season in their game Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks.
Even with a late push from New Orleans, it ended just like the previous four games of the season.
The Pelicans failed to get their first win of the year as they fell to the Atlanta Hawks at home 121-115. New Orleans was down as much as 17 in the second half before a late fourth quarter push to tie the game. The Hawks found their stroke late in the game and held off the final push from New Orleans. The Pelicans could not stop Kyle Korver, who scored 22 points on 8-8 shooting, including four three pointers.
Tonight was the return of the exciting and electric Anthony Davis, who finished with a career high 43 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Eric Gordon also shined with 22 points on 8-15 shooting.
Other Observations:
- The New Orleans Pelicans took WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too many threes in the game. 30 of their 84 shots in the game were three-pointers. The Hawks dared them to be a long-range shooting team tonight and the Pelicans seemed eager to be just that.
- The balance of the Hawks was an issue all night, with six Hawks players finishing above ten points, while just four Pelicans finished in double-digits.
- New Orleans struggled to take advantage of a bunch of Hawks mistakes, scoring only 15 points off 15 turnovers, while Atlanta scored 19 points off of 13 Pelicans turnovers.
- At the end of the day, New Orleans had a chance to win this game. The big problem? Staying on their man. Many times, Pelican players got beat because they took their eyes off their man. That cost them at the end.
The New Orleans Pelicans will have to recover fast as they play in Dallas against the Mavericks tomorrow. Tip is scheduled for 7:30 PM CST.