New Orleans Pelicans Awards: Pelicans shoot lights out in miraculous victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder

The New Orleans Pelicans caught fire tonight, shooting 52.2% from the floor in their miraculous victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder 123-119.

The New Orleans Pelicans were not expected to compete against the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight. They did more than just compete.

They won.

The New Orleans Pelicans shot the lights out of the gym, shooting 52.2% from the field including 12-20 from behind the three-point line to lead them to a win against the Thunder. The first half of the game was a back-and-forth affair between the two teams, led by Anthony Davis‘ 16 points in the first quarter. The Thunder did hold a three-point lead at halftime.

The Pelicans fired back in the second half with eight made three-pointers and chalked up 62 total second half points to lead them to victory. Anthony Davis finished the game with 30 points and six rebounds. Ryan Anderson caught fire of his own, shooting 11-22 from the field for 26 points, along with six rebounds. Jrue Holiday and Norris Cole also finished with over 20 points. Russell Westbrook dominated the scoring department for the Thunder with 44 points to go with four rebounds and nine assists.

MVP: Anthony Davis

Spoiler Alert: Anthony Davis is still really good at basketball. He capped a massive first quarter for the Pelicans with 16 points that helped the Pelicans start an electric night. He finished with 30 points and six rebounds on the night. Anthony Davis was the biggest animal on defense tonight, finishing with four blocks on a big front for Oklahoma City inside the paint. Davis responded to his sub-par game against the Washington Wizards Tuesday with an inspired performance tonight. That performance inspired the entire team to play strong tonight. His energy getting up and down the floor every possession of his 38 minutes gave this team the hope they could knock off one of the elite in the NBA. They did in big part to AD’s performance.

LVP: Alonzo Gee

In a game like this, it’s difficult to pick a LVP. However, that honor will go to Alonzo Gee after this game. He wasn’t out there to do much more than defend Kevin Durant for a good portion of the night, yet he really struggled to do even that. Durant put up 32 points while Gee took zero shots and only put up one rebound and two assists. He just doesn’t bring much on the floor to this team other than his athleticism. He’s a decent one-dimensional player, but he can’t do any scoring or even keep his guys off the glass. Remember, this is a guy who will now be starting a good portion of games until Eric Gordon returns. That’s tough for New Orleans to get past. When the team shoots like tonight, however, they can get over it.

More from Pelican Debrief

X-Factor: Holy shooting, Batman

Holy cow. The Pelicans’ hands might have been on fire shooting the basketball in this game. New Orleans finished this game shooting 52.2% from the field and 60% from behind the three-point line to total their 123 points on the night. It wasn’t just a few players either. Five of the six Pelicans who scored at least 10 points on the night shot 50% or higher from the field. This team’s balance in scoring and their ability to make difficult shots, especially in Ryan Anderson‘s case helped carry them against the clearly superior team in this contest. The Pelicans just came off their game against the Wizards scoring just 89 points in the entire contest, including 38 points in the entire second half. This was certainly a way to respond.

Turning Point: Making it rain in the fourth

The New Orleans Pelicans went into the fourth quarter with a slim two-point lead. They took the beginning of the fourth quarter to expand their lead with an offensive explosion. The Pelicans made seven three-pointers in the fourth quarter, including four in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter that stretched their lead to eight with nine minutes left in the game. Oklahoma City sure did respond with five made threes in the final quarter of their own. However, the Thunder could not make up enough ground to catch up to New Orleans. This was a game where defense was an afterthought. In that situation, the Pelicans out-shot Oklahoma City and got a massive win. When you’re hot, you’re hot.

Defining Moment: Anthony Davis stuffs Westbrook, Rhino buries a three

With three and a half minutes to go, Oklahoma City was attempting to gaining the momentum in the game. Down nine, Russell Westbrook drove into the lane and looked to score on a layup attempt. Anthony Davis stretched out to block his shot and the Pelicans got the ball off the AD’s rejection. New Orleans moved the ball up the floor and found Ryan Anderson with space outside the arc. Anderson did what he’s known for and buried the long ball to stretch the lead to 12. That being said, Anthony Davis looked injury off the block and the Pelicans failed to foul, leading to an easy layup for OKC on the five on four. With every positive this team makes, there’s always something they can improve on. Still, it sent electric waves all over the building.

Next: Bryce Dejean-Jones out six to eight weeks

That was……..an adrenaline rush!

Alvin Gentry‘s heart must have been going nuts all night. The New Orleans Pelicans held their own with one of the NBA’s top teams and stole a home victory as they try to keep pace with the other teams contending for a later playoff spot. It’s tough to ask any more from this roster tonight. They shot the ball an absurdly well amount all game. They held the superstars of OKC as well as they could. It was a fun game. A fun game that means a lot to this team.

The New Orleans Pelicans will look to get a winning streak going as they will continue their home-stand to play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night. Tip is scheduled for 3:00 PM CST.

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