New Orleans Pelicans clinch playoff birth in win versus San Antonio Spurs 108-101

It was a tall mountain to climb for the New Orleans Pelicans tonight. Beat the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, who were on an 11 game winning streak to make the postseason.

New Orleans reached the peak in style.

The Pelicans held on late after leading by 16 at halftime to defeat the San Antonio Spurs and clinch the playoffs for the first time since 2011 by a score of 108-101.

After a completely dominant first quarter where the Pelicans outscored the Spurs 34-19, New Orleans fought off many runs by San Antonio, including one late in the fourth that cut the deficit as low as three. However, the Pelicans continued to answer every run the Spurs threw at them and held strong on defense to fend off the defending champions.

Anthony Davis put up what could only be described as an MVP-like performance with 31 points and 13 rebounds to go along with three blocks. Tyreke Evans also finished the game with a double-double of 19 points and 11 assists to go along with three steals.

Other Observations:

• The first half could not have gone better offensively. The Pelicans shot a blistering 60.9% from the field, including 3-5 from behind the three-point line. The 63 points in the first half was the most the Spurs gave up all season in the first 24 minutes. Add along four steals, three blocks and three offensive rebounds and the Pelicans saw a dream offensive output in the first 24 minutes of the game.
• One of the biggest keys for the Pelicans was shutting down the SG combo of Manu Ginobili and Danny Green. Manu Ginobili shot only 1-7 from the field while Danny Green did not attempt a shot all game. Shutting down two of the Spurs most electric scorers helped the Pelicans set the tone and was a big component in their victory.
• Shot selection was a huge key going into this game and it proved to be a deciding factor tonight. The Pelicans did a great job at limiting their poor shot selection, shooting an impressive 51.8% from the field and shooting 50% from behind the three-point line. Going against a team that can wear down opponents with their air-tight defense, the Pelicans found ways to get great looks and convert. That’s huge.
• The Pelicans will now prepare for a gauntlet first round series against the NBA’s best regular season team in the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors pose a lot of threat shooting the ball and can light up the scoreboard with ease. However, one of the Pelicans biggest wins on the year to help them get into the playoffs was against Golden State back on April 8th when they beat the Warriors 103-100.
• The first game of the series will be on Saturday in Golden State on ABC. Time for the Pelicans to strap in for what will be an entertaining series.

Tweet(s) of the night: