The New Orleans Pelicans could not give Anthony Davis the support he needed in a loss to Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Anthony Davis put up yet another ridiculous stat line for the New Orleans Pelicans Sunday Night.
Unfortunately, it was yet again not enough for a win.
The Oklahoma City Thunder used power inside and speed in transition to defeat the Pelicans 101-92. The Pelicans kept close throughout the game, yet were never able to fully comeback. Every run they made was counteracted by missed looks and poor transition defense on Oklahoma City.
Anthony Davis finished the game with 37 points and 15 rebounds, another monstrous game. Add along four blocks and two steals, and you have a stat line that should be enough for any supporting cast to fill.
Still, the Pelicans supporting cast is struggling to find offensive execution. The one player that did was Buddy Hield. He did not get much run until the fourth quarter, but he delivered. Hield made four of his seven long-range attempts and finished with 16 points and four rebounds in 15 minutes.
However, Russell Westbrook led the Thunder to another win with his fifth triple-double in a row. His 28 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists was more than enough for Oklahoma City, as they controlled the game for most of the contest.
Other Observations:
- This game should have looked a lot worse for the Pelicans. OKC struggling from deep, shooting just 6-28 from behind the arc in this game. Even with New Orleans shooting 6-28 from deep as well, the Thunder were able to overcome the shooting woes and won.
- At the end of the day, 36.7% shooting from the field is not going to cut it in the NBA. New Orleans has to find a way to make their open looks or get even better looks. They could not find a way into the paint comfortably tonight. Making open jumpers is necessary to win NBA games.
- This recent stretch of Pelicans basketball may just be a case of the Jrue Holiday return shadowing some major problems for a little while. New Orleans does not have the offensive weapons to stay in games with good teams. They also are still having major problems with defensive execution. Until both of those are solved, they will likely continue to struggle against the playoff contending squads.
The New Orleans Pelicans will be back in action tomorrow, as they head back home to play the Memphis Grizzlies for the second game of a back-to-back. Tip is scheduled for 7:00 PM CST.