New Orleans Pelicans Grades: Pelicans Snap Skid in Win Versus Suns
By Geespn
The New Orleans Pelicans finally found victory Monday Night, to snap a four game losing streak with a win against the Phoenix Suns at home.
The Pelicans snapped a four-game losing streak, as they won a close battle 111-106 against the Phoenix Suns at home.
Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis led the charge for the Pelicans, especially in the fourth quarter. They scored 27 of the team’s final 34 points in the final frame.
The Pelicans late-game woes were some what handled in their game against the Suns. The fourth quarter offense was not a thing of beauty, but it was able to get the job done against the Suns, who had the same offensive problems in the fourth.
New Orleans jumped out early against the Suns, leading by as many as 10 points in the first half. However, they found themselves trying to claw back in the final 12 minutes. They trailed late in the game, until almost about the one minute mark.
Led behind their two-star tandem, New Orleans put their stamp on the quarter. Davis was clutch from the line at the end of the game, making 6-of-8 free throws in the final 30 seconds, to secure the victory.
Davis made just one three, but it came at a needing time, when the Pelicans were down four with around four minutes in the game. From there, Davis was ready to do whatever he had to do to get the win.
106. 66. 111. 69. Final
Jrue Holiday played an all-around game, against the Suns. He was able to control with not only his passes, but also his shooting. He finished the game with 30 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and 3 blocks. Holiday was everywhere, especially in the fourth. He made a key move to spin off of Barbosa, with about 1:26 on the clock, to score the layup and give the Pelicans the 102-101 lead. 20 seconds later, with the Suns up 103-102, Holiday again showed his heroics by making the DAGGER draining three over Eric Bledsoe. He and Davis are the reason the Pelicans were able to come up with a much needed win, to keep them in playoff contention.. PG. . JRUE HOLIDAY. A+
B-. Buddy Hield was feeling it early and was part of the reason the Pelicans were able to hold a lead in the first half. Hield finished the first half with 11 points and was red hot, shooting 3-4 from the three and 4-7 from the field. Unfortunately, he did not score again in the game. In the second half, he only shot twice more, and missed both of them. His final shooting numbers had him 4-9 from the field and 3-5 from three. Buddy did finish the game with four assists and three rebounds. A good first half for Hield. It is interesting to see what else he can bring to the starting lineup for the Pelicans.. SG. . BUDDY HIELD
B. Solomon Hill scored seven second-half points and overall finished the game with a +17 plus/minus for the Pelicans. Hill finished the game with nine points, two rebounds and two assists on 3-8 shooting. Not a terrible night for him, especially considering he made some big free throws for the Pelicans, with a little under two minutes left in the game to cut the Suns lead to one. Hill came up great for the team when they needed him the most.. SF/PF. . SOLOMON HILL
C. Terrence Jones fouled out and only shot 2-8 for the game. He did not have a particularly good showing and this is probably one of those shooting nights he would like to forget about. Jones did pitch in, by tying for the most rebounds on the team with nine. All nine of them were defensive rebounds. Jones also had two steals, but a rough shooting night for Terrence, who normally shoots around 47 percent from the field on the year.. PF. . TERRENCE JONES
After putting up 25 and 10 against the Wizards, Anthony Davis was back to his same old same old. Davis finished the first half with 11 points and six rebounds. In the second half, he was even more assertive. Davis played well, scoring 34 points, grabbing nine rebounds and returning five shots back to sender. Davis did all this on 57 percent shooting. Anthony also hit a huge three in the fourth quarter, to keep the Pelicans close. Down the stretch, A.D. sealed the game with not only his six free throws, but he grabbed a game sealing rebound, as the Suns missed what would have been the game tying two. As Davis grabbed the game sealing rebound, he squeezed the life out of the basketball. His hands made look like a nerf and screamed in excitement. His energy is the best. Great all around game for him.. C/PF. . ANTHONY DAVIS. A+
TYREKE EVANS. C. Tyreke Evans’ night was cut short, after he did not come out in the second half, due to a lingering ankle injury. Evans only played eight minutes and finished with zero points and just four rebounds. Here’s to hoping he can get back to 100 percent and be back ready for the Pelicans’ future games.. PG/SG/SF.
C. Langston Galloway was only 1-4 from the field in his seven minutes. He also shot 0-3 from three. Galloway has had a bit of a shooting slump. He’s most dangerous when he’s draining it from long range. He needs that rhythm back.. SG. . LANGSTON GALLOWAY
. E'TWAUN MOORE. B. E’Twaun Moore has been a good player off the bench for the Pelicans. He finished the game with 12 points, four rebounds and four steals. Moore was once again light spark for the team. Moore shot the deep ball too, making two of his five attempts from deep. 2 -5. He also shot 5-10 from the field in tonight’s game. Great overall showing from Moore.. SF/SG
. DANTE CUNNINGHAM. B-. Dante Cunningham had a solid five points and six rebounds in his 20 minutes of play. A solid game for Cunningham, who did what you would expect him to do with his skill set.. PF/SF
INC. Rough to grade with only five minutes played, finished with one lone rebound. Hope to see him more in the rotation. Maybe to help Anthony Davis attempt to move back to the power forward position.. C. . DONATAS MOTIEJUNAS
Next: Former New Orleans Pelicans' Guard Eric Gordon in Three-Point Contest
The New Orleans Pelicans will look to capitalize on the final home game before All-Star Break. They will be home Wednesday night, to play the tough and physical Utah Jazz. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CST.