New Orleans Pelicans win 8th straight game, move into 4th place
By Joshua Lea
The New Orleans Pelicans are rolling, winning their 8th game in a row. Now, they’re in the 4th seed and looking to keep the momentum going.
The New Orleans Pelicans are winning games at an impressive clip. Last night, the Dallas Mavericks were no match for the high-scoring of the Pelicans. The Pelicans put up 126 on Dallas, giving them their 45th loss of the season. Jrue Holiday paced the Pelicans with 30 points on an impressive 12-of-19 shooting. Anthony Davis chipped in 23 on 9-of-19 shooting and Nikola Mirotic added 24 on 8-of-15 shooting.
Granted, it’s the Dallas Mavericks we are talking about here. They are miles from the Championship team that bested LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in the 2011 NBA Finals. Still, the win only helps propel the New Orleans Pelicans up the ladder that is the Western Conference Playoff race.
On this day, the Pelicans are in fourth place. They’re a half-game ahead of Minnesota, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City. The Spurs are just 2-and-8 over their last 10 games. Minnesota appears to have lost some composure since the injury to Jimmy Butler. The Wolves made headlines over the weekend for multiple ejections during a 116-108 loss to Utah.
OKC continues to be a puzzling franchise. After defeating the Phoenix Suns on Friday 124-116, the Thunder elected to rest Carmelo Anthony on the second night of their weekend back-to-back against Portland. Portland has the number three seed in the West after beating OKC on Saturday 108-100.
This week the New Orleans Pelicans embark on a mini two-game road swing at Los Angeles on Tuesday to face the Clippers and in Sacramento on Wednesday. Following the road trip, they’ll finish out the work-week at home against Washington. This is a great opportunity for the Pelicans to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the West.
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These last eight wins are not an accident, and they are not because of the Pelicans are better without DeMarcus Cousins. The entire team is upping their game to accommodate the drive that Anthony Davis has at this moment. During the interview with Rachel Nichols from All-Star weekend, Davis said he wants to win. That’s exactly what the Pelicans have done since the All-Star break.
The Pelicans are scoring 112.3 points a game. That’s the 3rd highest in the NBA behind Golden State and Houston. They’re outscoring teams at an alarming rate. In fact, during their eight-game win streak, the Pelicans are averaging 126.7 points a game. They have a total of 1,014 points in their last eight games. What’s more, the Pelicans are moving the ball extremely well. They are averaging 26.4 assists per game. That’s the second most of any team in the league.
Next: The Success of the Pelicans begins with Anthony Davis
There’s plenty of excitement thriving in the New Orleans community about the possibilities of this underdog Pelicans squad. Stay with Pelican Debrief for the latest news and notes on the Pelicans quest to the playoffs.