Lead foot turns to that of cotton balls as New Orleans lets go of another late game lead to fall to 1-3 on the season. While the 103-93 loss may outwardly seem like it was a comfortable victory for Portland, make no mistake, the Pelicans gave the Blazers a run for their money!
For the Pelicans, the game got off to an auspicious start. Just 9 minutes into the first quarter, star forward Anthony Davis made his way to the locker room after an awkward knee buckling incident. The ruling was made early that Davis would not make a return to the hardwood for the remainder of the game. With this unfortunate news, the Pelicans needed to turn to another familiar face to help anchor the team.
Enter DeMarcus Cousins.
Filling in for the role of “head-honcho” Boogie finished the game with 39 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks. A large reason for the game being as close as it was until the bitter end was because of Cousins’ stellar performance.
He seemed like a man on a mission tonight, dominating down low (52% shooting) while also making his mark from beyond the arc (30% shooting).
Through the first half the Pelicans shot the ball remarkably well, finishing strong with a 40% clip from beyond the arc. Aside from Cousins, guys like Jrue Holiday (14 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds), Ian Clark (9 points, 3 assists, 7 rebounds) and newly acquired guard Jameer Nelson (10 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds) all seemed to be scoring at will in the first act of the contest.
Holding Portland’s star duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum to a combined 4 points, having the Blazers shoot 30% from the field AND lead the game 48-47 at the end of the second, it seemed as though the Pelicans may be heading towards bigger things to come in final half.
And while this thought process rained true throughout the third, the fourth quarter was an entirely different ballgame.
Trailing 73-71 coming into the quarter, the Blazers realized that the time was now to strike. Unfortunately for New Orleans, the cold performances of both Lillard and McCollum all but vanished.
With 7:32 left in the game Portland found themselves up 87-81 thanks in large to McCollum’s (23 points) back-to-back treys. By the 4:06 mark, NOLA cut the Blazers lead to just 1 (92-91) thanks in large to their 10-0 run. Unfortunately, sloppy ball handling and foolish fouls were their demise from this point forward. Lillard (13 points), going up for a ‘3’, got fouled by Ian Clark, which forced the point guard to the line. From there he sunk the 3 free-throws and the rest was history.
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All in all, New Orleans yet again played solid basketball through 3 quarters of play. The ball movement was superb, defense was suffocating, communication was on point. You name it and the Pelicans did it!
If there were only 36 minutes (3 quarters) of action in an NBA game it’s quite possible the Pelicans would be 4-0 right now. Unfortunately for them, a regulation basketball game is 48 minutes (4 quarters). Because of this inconvenient truth NOLA finds themselves with a 1-3 record, placing them fourth in their division ahead of only Dallas (0-4).
While the season is still young, the fact that the Pelicans can’t finish strong is a bit concerning. Now, with Davis being listed as “day-to-day”, the 4th quarter woes may not be over with just yet.
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New Orleans’ next matchup is this Thursday in Sacramento against the Kings. Tip-off will commence at 10:30 ET. Will New Orleans come away with their second victory of the season, or will they follow their current pattern and completely collapse come the 4th?
Whatever the case may be, tune in for what should turn out to be an entertaining matchup!