The injuries pilled up on the day and became too much to overcome, as the New Orleans Pelicans lost to the Phoenix Suns 74-72. Without AD, Jrue Holiday or Ryan Anderson, the Pelicans struggled mightily to put up any consistent offensive output. During the game, Omer Asik was forced to leave the game with a calf strain. Tyreke Evans also turned his ankle during the second quarter, but returned to the game soon after.
Markieff Morris led the Suns in scoring with 17 points and eight rebounds. Eric Gordon was the leading scorer for the Pelicans with 14 points.
Other Observations:
"The Pelicans offense in the first half was very painful to watch. The Pelicans scored 34 points in the first 24 minutes. The first half also saw a 34.9% from the field, 1-8 from behind the three-point line and seven turnovers. It was clear very early on the Pelicans were out of sorts on offense without Anthony Davis.One of the biggest problems on the night was the inability for the Pelicans to get to the free-throw line. The Pelicans only attempted ten free-throws in the game, making five of them. The Suns attempted 21 free-throws. In a game that was down to the wire, that big a differential is something the Pelicans will have a tough time swallowing.Not a single Pelican player shot over 50% from the field. Only Omer Asik (3-6) and Elliot Williams (1-2) shot 50% in the game with everyone else under that. The shooting by both teams was not good, with the Pelicans shooting 37.8% and the Suns shooting 34.9%, but for New Orleans it was a team struggle from the field.The matchup nightmare for New Orleans was in the paint. The Pelicans gave up 40 points in the paint to the Suns who are a relatively small team. The man who got a good chunk of those was Suns big man Branden Wright, who scored 16 points on 8-10 shooting from the field, all of those in the paint. With all their interior defenders injury, New Orleans couldn’t tame the Suns inside the paint to help them secure a victory.The Pelicans are back at it tomorrow in a gauntlet of a game, in Golden State against the Warriors. Tip is scheduled for 9:30 CST. Tweet of the Night:"