New Orleans Pelicans Awards: Pelicans grind out home victory against New York Knicks

The New Orleans Pelicans found a way to grind out a tough victory against the New York Knicks at home 99-91.

The New Orleans Pelicans had previously gone 0-33 when scoring under 100 points in a game this season.

No time like the present to break a streak like that.

The Pelicans kept grinding throughout a tough contest to secure a close victory against another struggling team in the New York Knicks. After being down five points at halftime, the Pels held the Knicks to just 10 points in the third quarter, helping them secure a lead going into the final frame.

From there, it was up to strong playmaking and a continued focus on strong defense. Those two keys combined to hold off a few runs by New York to give New Orleans their first win in the past four games.

Jrue Holiday led the Pelicans charge with 22 points, six assists, six rebounds and four steals. Five other Pelican players finished the game with at least nine points as every single New Orleans player who saw the floor scored at least three points.

Carmelo Anthony led the scoring for the New York Knicks with 22 points to go along with six assists and five rebounds.

MVP: Jrue Holiday

The return of Jrue Holiday from injury was a massive factor for this Pelicans team tonight. What has been an ineffective offense without a defensive stopper near the arc got a huge boost. Jrue finished with 22 points and six assists on the night to help lead a lacking offense over the past few games he’s missed. What was a bigger factor was his defense. His four steals kept the Knicks guards guessing all night and the wings’ errant passes turned into transition opportunities for New Orleans. The Pelicans miss Jrue Holiday a lot. While the other guards can score the basketball or pass effectively, none can do both and lock down the other team’s point guard for long stretches. Jrue showed just what he can do tonight and was the leading catalyst to tonight’s win.

LVP: Omer Asik

Omer Asik had an extremely poor showing in tonight’s contest. Staring alongside Alexis Ajinca, Asik scored just two points and three rebounds to go along with two turnovers. The bigger stat was the fact he played just eight minutes on a team that could not be more banged up. This is a team that is willingly playing players straight out of the D-League for a decent amount of minutes each game. Omer Asik not being able to find the floor for 15 minutes per night on a team that’s paying him over ten million per year in this situation is inexcusable no matter the mismatch. He has to be a massive factor inside the paint. He struggled all night to limit Robin Lopez, who had a great night overall. For a defensive first player in his first year on a major contract, this has been a massive letdown for the organization and for Asik. 

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X-Factor: Balanced scoring

The Pelicans got a big boost from the entire roster tonight. All ten players who saw the floor tonight scored at least three points and sans Kendrick Perkins, each player scored at least one basket. Six Pelicans players also scored at least nine points on the night, which led to an effective offense when the team needed points in tough stretches. The aggression from the team as a whole played a big role on the night as well, as New Orleans finished way ahead of the Knicks in total free throws taken 37-13. Eight Pelicans got at least four attempts at the free-throw line on the night and while the team finished a shaky 73% from the line on the night, only two of those players missed at least two of their attempts. The team as a whole stayed aggressive and willing to score all night. That keyed into their win at home in this game.

Turning Point: Two minutes of shutdown defense

The Pelicans found themselves down 85-84 with three minutes left in the game. For New Orleans to win the game, they either needed an offensive explosion or a defensive show. They chose the later, holding the Knicks scoreless for the next two minutes and 15 seconds. Once again, the Pelicans didn’t have a massive offensive output in that stretch, but did score nine points to help secure their victory. The New Orleans defense forced mistakes from New York throughout the stretch and helped persuade the Knicks into poor decisions, leading to great opportunities for the Pelicans. Close games usually come down to late game offensive execution, but tonight’s game came down to defensive awareness. The New Orleans Pelicans won that department of the game and in result, won the game.

Defining Moment: 14 straight missed shots by New York

Sure, these teams are not known for being very good at basketball this season. Still, the defining moment was a stretch of revolting basketball in the third quarter. The New York Knicks were up by ten with 9:32 left in the third quarter. For a Pelicans team that has been struggling to get any momentum on the night, the game seemed to be getting out of reach. New York responded by missing their next 14 straight shot attempts. In over eight minutes of basketball, the Knicks scored two points on free-throws while going 0-14 on the floor. The Pelicans only made six shots in that same stretch, which led to some of the ugliest basketball throughout the entire season. The teams combined for 29 points in the third quarter. Ugly, ugly basketball defined this game better than anything else.

Next: Pelicans Awards: Pelicans crushed by Raptors

That was……..a surprise victory.

Alvin Gentry has to be at least a little surprised his team got the victory in tonight’s contest. While the team worked well together and played strong defense, they scored only 99 points on 42% shooting while turning the ball over 13 times. That usually doesn’t count for a win, but the tough minded New Orleans Pelicans did not give up on the contest one bit throughout the night. It got them a motivational boosting victory at home tonight and will help set the tone for the rest of the season.

The New Orleans Pelicans will look to keep up the winning ways as they try to play spoiler against the Spurs in San Antonio Wednesday .Tip is scheduled for 7:30 PM CST.