New Orleans Pelicans Grades: Pelicans Hold On For Big Win Versus Grizzlies
The New Orleans Pelicans started off strong and held on, after a tough fourth quarter, to beat the Memphis Grizzlies on the road.
The New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies have a knack for close games this season.
Each of their previous encounters went to over-time, and that path was not far off again. Despite great play all game by the Pelicans, Memphis was able to storm their way back into the game.
The Pelicans entered the 4th quarter leading by 16, but despite that advantage, the Grizzlies continued to fight back. They got within one point, with 48 seconds remaining. However, a clutch jumper by Anthony Davis helped the Pelicans avoid an embarrassing defeat.
The leading scorer for New Orleans ended up being Solomon Hill, who finished with 23 points on 8-11 shooting. Mike Conley led the Grizzlies in scoring, with 17 points.
69. Final. 91. 211. 95
JRUE HOLIDAY. A. Jrue Holiday was excellent against the Memphis Grizzlies. He was the main culprit in why the Pelicans’ offense was humming along efficiently. Jrue was relentless attacking the basket and finding shooters on his drives, or using his strength to get easy baskets at the rim. Holiday’s final line looks like this: 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. A stat stuffing performance, that is an accurate depiction of how well he played. Defensively, Holiday was excellent. He used his strength and size to bother Grizzlies star Mike Conley Jr. In fact, a big reason the Grizzlies even came back was because Jrue sat in the 4th quarter with five fouls.. G. New Orleans Pelicans
D. Buddy Hield finished the game with five points on 2-4 shooting from the field. Hield was a non-factor in his 18 minutes tonight. Usually being relegated to standing in the corner, Hield could not find much space.. SG. New Orleans Pelicans. BUDDY HIELD
A+. Solomon Hill followed up a solid game with the best game of his Pelicans career by a large margin. He had season high 23 points on 11 attempts, and made four of his fix three point attempts. It was a surprising performance from the usually defensive-minded Hill. And while it’s something that should not be counted on to happen consistently, it was cool to see Solomon Hill flash some of the potential, that landed him a big contract. Hill came alive towards the end of last year, so keep an eye on if that happens again.. F. New Orleans Pelicans. SOLOMON HILL
B. Anthony Davis was very quiet in the first half of the game. So quiet, in fact, that he only had four points at halftime. The rest of the team was able to pickup his slack, though, and the play from Holiday and Hill kept the Pelicans afloat, until Davis came alive. Davis struggled to find space inside against the Grizzlies and that can be attributed to two huge factors. 1) Marc Gasol is an elite defensive rim protector. 2) Alexis Ajinca clogged a lot of space. It has been awhile since Davis has played with a traditional five on the floor. It was a cause for adjustment with the Grizzlies packing the inside and forcing Davis to hit shots on the perimeter. In the second half, those jumpers started falling and Davis would score 14 second half points, to end the game with 18 points and seven rebounds. A modest stat-line from him for sure, and an All-Star break in the comfort of his own home should suit him well.. F/C. New Orleans Pelicans. ANTHONY DAVIS
B-. Alexis Ajinca went from not playing at all, to playing 36 minutes against a very tough Grizzlies front-court. Everything else aside, that’s a tough task and he performed adequately. That in itself is impressive. Ajinca posted his first double-double of the season, with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He did most of his damage from the line, using his size to create contact. Ajinca looked very motivated to impress and he did that on both ends of the floor. It was not perfect, as he still struggled with fundamental errors, such as boxing out on the glass. But overall, one of the better games he had in a long time.. C. New Orleans Pelicans. ALEXIS AJINCA
DONATAS MONTIEJUNAS. C. Donatas Montiejunas played very O.K. He made a few nifty post moves, but what really stood out was his defense. Not that it was overtly impressive or anything, but he was fighting with Zach Randolph all game and held his own against the powerful Z-Bo.. PF/C. New Orleans Pelicans
D. It was a rough outing for Tyreke Evans, who just could not find any sort of rhythm. Evans was forcing shots all game and seemed to make the wrong choices on when to pass or when to attack. Towards the end of the game, Evans began settling for long twos. The offense stagnated in the 4th quarter, with Tyreke running the offense and the lack of good shots correlated with the Grizzlies near comeback.. G/F. New Orleans Pelicans. TYREKE EVANS
D. E’Twaun Moore struggled mightily from the field. He was 2-8 in his 17 minutes of action. Moore’s night was pretty much summed up when he air-balled a wide open three point attempt. Just not his night, but he will have plenty of time to rest up and bounce back.. G/F. New Orleans Pelicans. E'TWAUN MOORE
LANGSTON GALLOWAY. INC. Langston Galloway made one three in 11 minutes. With E’Twuan Moore back into the lineup, Galloway will find it tough to get ample playing time.. G. New Orleans Pelicans
Next: Anthony Davis' Journey to His Fourth All-Star Game Appearance
The New Orleans Pelicans now head into the All-Star Break. Their next game will not be until February 23rd, where they’ll take on the Houston Rockets at home. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CST.