New Orleans Pelicans Grades: Pelicans Finish Flat in Loss to Kings

105. 84. 99. 69. Final

Jrue Holiday had a complete game for the Pelicans. He was everywhere on the floor and on the stat sheet. Holiday finished the game with 16 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and five steals. The one downfall of Holiday’s game is that he finished second on the team in turnovers with four. Holiday found the open man and was able to get his buckets, even with his three-point shot not falling. He and Davis are such a good tandem. It would be great if that could translate to more wins for the Pels.. PG. . JRUE HOLIDAY. B

. BUDDY HIELD. C-. Buddy Hield had a short night, because of his flagrant foul on Cousins. This is probably one of those games the young rookie wants to forget about. Hield played just 14 minutes and put up five points and two assists. However, the Pelicans noticeably missed him, after he was ejected. The Kings looked like a different team, once he headed to the locker room. Hield was the only Pelican who finished the game with a positive plus-minus rating.. SG

. SOLOMON HILL. B. Solomon Hill had a good shooting night from the three point line, which is always something the Pelicans appreciate. He was 3-5 from three and finished the game with nine points. When Hill is on, it is very nice to see.. SF/PF

Dante Cunningham stepped up in the absence of Terrence Jones, who missed tonight’s game with a thumb injury. Cunningham and Hill both brought their three point game tonight. Cunningham had 14 points and six rebounds, while shooting 4-7 from the three-point line. A good night for him to step into the starting lineup and contribute on the offensive end, to help Anthony Davis out.. PF/SF. . DANTE CUNNINGHAM. C+

Anthony Davis continues to prove himself as one of the top rare talents in the NBA. Davis’ offensive touch was a thing of beauty tonight, against the Kings. He made jumpers, attacked the rim and drew contact. Davis never quits on a game. That’s the admirable part of his game. Anthony attacked every player on the Kings, no matter if it was DeMarcus Cousins or Willie Cauley-Stein. He went to work. The downside of his game tonight was he led the team in turnovers with six. Davis was held to only 11 points in the second half, after scoring 21 in the first 24 minutes. The Kings just had a complete team effort in the second half and A.D. could not repeat his first half performance.. C/PF. . ANTHONY DAVIS. B+

C. Tyreke Evans did not have a terrible game ,but he could have done more, considering the Pelicans were short-handed in the second half. At times. fans can forget he’s on the floor. However, he is still banged up, so hopefully he plays out the remaining stretch and continues to try to get back to 100 percent for the Pelicans. Evans just did not have a huge impact on the game, although he did score seven points in his 15 minutes of play.. PG/SG/SF. . TYREKE EVANS

. LANGSTON GALLOWAY. C. Langston Galloway’s shot looked a lot better. His three pointer was falling and he’s a better player when that shot is going in for him. Galloway made three triples, although they did not win the game. Let’s hope he can continue that rhythm in their second game of the back-to-back, against the Suns.. SG

Tim Frazier did not contribute in tonight’s game. The Pelicans needed his gutsy-like play tonight and Frazier could not produce it for the team. He finished the game with zero points on two shot attempts in his 11 minutes.. PG. . TIM FRAZIER. C-

. DONATAS MOTIEJUNAS. B. Donatas Motiejunas is actually showing signs that he may be a decent fit with the Pelicans. Although he could not get the three pointer to fall, he did stretch the floor by actually taking the shots. Motiejunas did help Davis on the boards, as he finished the game with seven points and eight rebounds. If he could get those three pointers to fall, he and Davis could potentially be something worth Alvin Gentry trying out in the rotation. There’s nothing else to lose at this point, so it is definitely worth a try.. C/PF