New Orleans Pelicans win big game on the road
By Terry Kimble
For only the second time this season the New Orleans Pelicans have won a game on the road defeating the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.
Minus two starters tonight, the undermanned New Orleans Pelicans outworked the Toronto Raptors to a 126-110 victory. The Pelicans are now one game over the .500 and have won three straight overall.
Key stat of the game…
After such a dominating statistical performance it is hard to pinpoint one key stat. The Pelicans outscored the Raptors by 30 in the paint. The grabbed 11 more rebounds. They had 8 more assists and finished with 30 for the game, All of those are great stats, but one stands out above all.
4. This was the total number of points that all-star guard Kyle Lowry finished with for the game. This is the second straight game that Jrue Holiday completely took a premier guard out the game. He similarly shut down Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker on Saturday night.
It is no surprise Holiday is a great defender. He made all defensive first team last season, but he has a different look in his face this season. He has made it a personal challenge to shut down the opponent from tip-off til buzzer sounds. Jrue should get a few defensive player of the year award votes this season.
It was over when…
Midway through the fourth quarter the Raptors cut the Pelicans lead to single digits and had finally gotten their crowd involved in the game. After a timeout Jrue Holiday came out and got a step back three to fall. After a stop on the defensive end, E’Twaun Moore hit one of his patented floaters in the lane to push the lead further into double-digits.
The Raptors would never threaten again and the Pelicans came away with a 16 point victory. Consider how well the Raptors have been playing this year and how anemic the Pelicans have been on the road, this certainly can be considered the Pelicans best win so far in the early stages of this season.
Player of the game…
Not sure there is any doubt about this one. E’Twuan Moore was outstanding this evening finishing with a game high 30 points on a sizzling 72% shooting from the field. Whether knocking down a three pointer or driving into the teeth of the defense for a floater, Moore was unstoppable.
Much of the Pelicans success can be tied into Moore’s contribution to the team. According to Will Guillory with The Athletic, the Pelicans are 10-3 since the start of last season when Moore scores 20 or more points. More often than not when Moore succeeds so do the Pelicans.
The New Orleans Pelicans next have a national television showdown with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. The Wolves have lost 4 of their last 5 games and have just traded star Jimmy Butler. With the hopeful return of either Nikola Mirotic or Elfrid Payton the Pelicans could be looking at aiming for their fourth straight win.