New Orleans Pelicans Awards: Pelicans fight hard and hold off Utah Jazz for massive win

The New Orleans Pelicans fought hard and stayed strong against the defensive-minded Utah Jazz to win 100-96, their second win in a row.

The New Orleans Pelicans are once again trying to make a big run just before the All-Star Break, earning their second win in a row against a young Utah Jazz team.

The Pelicans and Jazz were in a neck-and-neck battle for most of the game, but the fourth quarter went in the Pelicans favor. After fighting back to tie the game after being down six to start the final frame, New Orleans rode Anthony Davis‘ clutch shooting until the end, as he scored 10 of his 19 points in the final five minutes of the game. That included a clutch three-pointer to put the Pelicans up four with under a minute to go. Jrue Holiday led the Pelicans overall in scoring with 20 points.

Utah was led by Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward. Favors finished the game with 29 points and six rebounds, while Hayward finished with 21 points, four assists and two steals. Rudy Gobert made life very difficult for the Pelicans inside with 12 points, 14 points and two blocks. All 10 Pelicans who played tonight scored at least two baskets, nine players ended with at least five points in the game. A balanced scoring effort helped the Pelicans make up for the strong Utah defense and get a major win necessary for the team to overcome a huge obstacle in their pursuit for the playoffs.

MVP: Jrue Holiday

In a game the Pelicans seemed focused on balanced scoring, Jrue Holiday took over overall. Jrue got the offense back rolling in the fourth quarter, was able to break away in scoring for the team and held down the young, quick guards of the Utah Jazz. The Pelicans have had issues with scoring slumps, but Holiday did everything he could to keep the offense consistent for the entire game. While he had five turnovers, hurting the team overall, his two steals, six rebounds and nine assists balanced out the bad and was an exclamation point to his importance and effectiveness tonight. When the Pelicans were sluggish, he got them back up. That’s MVP worthy in a game that came down to the very end.

LVP: Norris Cole

In all honesty, it’s really hard to pick a LVP tonight because everyone played pretty well. However, Norris Cole was once again the worst player for the Pelicans. Even though he didn’t necessarily have a horrific game, he only scored 11 points on 10 shots and had just four assists in 24 minutes. He also chalked up two turnovers. It becomes difficult to judge Cole because of his role as a starting point guard that’s really a backup point guard. The other big problem was the lack of effectiveness of the starting unit for the Pelicans, led by Cole. The Jazz’s size made it tough, especially for Cole, to find the open man inside and get them set up for an open shot. Cole never found rhythm at all tonight.

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X-Factor: The bench

While the starters had problems all game for the Pelicans, the bench commanded the entire game. The bench of the New Orleans Pelicans outscored the Jazz in bench points 49-10. The bench production was led by Jrue Holiday and Alexis Ajinca, which ended up being a lethal combo Utah could not account for when the Pelicans were on offense. Ajinca had eight points and 11 rebounds off the bench and provided quite a pick-and-roll combo with Jrue. The bench as a whole completely dominated the Jazz’s unit the entire game, helping swing the game back in New Orleans favor when they entered the game. In a game where the starting unit struggled with the massive size of the Jazz’s starting unit, the bench stepped up big time to get this team into the game late.

Turning Point: Fourth quarter lockdown by the bench unit

The Pelicans started the fourth quarter down six points with the game seemingly in favor of the Utah Jazz. It changed when the Jrue-Alexis combo started taking over to start the final frame. The combo combined for 14 points in seven minutes while holding the Utah Jazz’s reserves to just six points in the first seven minutes of the fourth. That got the Pelicans right back into a tie game and gave them a fighting chance against a juggernaut. The biggest effort from the core bench got New Orleans the opportunity they needed to beat a rival for the final playoff spot. Changed the game completely.

Defining Moment: Anthony Davis dagger from deep

With just 47 seconds left in the game, the Pelicans found themselves up one point with a big chance to stretch the lead. A pick and roll between Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis saw the sideline open up. Jrue took it, but was met by both his and Anthony’s man. Passing it to AD near the three-point line, Davis took a dribble and then launched a three-point attempt, his first attempt from long distance in the game. He drilled the shot, giving the Pelicans a four-point lead and putting the Jazz in a very difficult position. New Orleans did their job and played strong defense to hold onto their lead and win the game. The confidence Davis has gotten in his long-range shooting has really payed off, especially tonight when it mattered most.

Next: Tyreke Evans likely done for the season

That was……..massive.

Alvin Gentry had to have known this game’s importance. A team they will be fighting tooth-and-nail for the final playoff spot. A team very difficult to score on. A young up-and-coming roster. The Pelicans defended their turf tonight and won a must-win game getting close to the All-Star break. This was the time of year New Orleans got an excellent run of basketball going last year. If the effort and effectiveness can stay strong, they could look to do that again.

The New Orleans Pelicans will look to make one more statement before the All-Star Break as they play the Oklahoma City Thunder tomorrow on the road. Tip is scheduled for 7:00 PM CST.

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