The New Orleans Pelicans put away the Trail Blazers 138-117 behind a scorching third quarter and a career-high 31 points from Zion.
Both the New Orleans Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers were playing well coming into tonight’s matchup, which could have playoff implications down the road. The Trail Blazers came out firing, opening up a 16 point lead early in the first half behind impressive play from Hassan Whiteside, who had a double-double in the second quarter and was having his way with Derrick Favors. The Pelicans didn’t help themselves, with some sloppy play early on and lazy passes that led to turnovers. The Pelicans tightened up their passing and were able to chip away at the lead and were down just two points at the half.
The Pelicans then exploded for 41 points in the third quarter, hitting 15-23 from the field and essentially putting the game away. It was a great home win for the Pelicans and with one game left before the All-Star break, puts them in position to go into the break on a high note. Here are three takeaways from tonight’s big win against the Trail Blazers.
Zion
Those who were worried about Zion Williamson‘s injury shouldn’t be. The Pelicans’ star rookie scored an efficient 31 points in just 28 minutes for a +25 plus/minus, best on the team. He added nine rebounds and five assists and the Pelicans’ offense was generally unstoppable when he was on the floor. This was evident in the second quarter when Zion exited after a 7-0 run by the Pelicans. The Trail Blazers immediately went on a run and Whiteside was able to secure a double-double with four minutes left in the quarter. Williamson’s absence was immediately felt.
Williamson was especially impressive on the offensive boards, grabbing six, mostly on his own misses. When Zion is able to bully his way into the lane there is not much opponents can do to stop him, and even when he misses, he often gets his own rebound. Zion is a force in the lane and has the chance to be an elite offensive rebounder if he’s not already.
His presence was also felt in transition, where he completely changes the game, even when he doesn’t touch the ball. The streaking Williamson constantly demanded attention, which left open lanes for Josh Hart and Lonzo Ball in transition. The mere threat of one of Williamson’s highlight reel dunks was enough to open up transition buckets for his teammates.
Zion was impressive in his return and Ja Morant’s lock on the Rookie of the Year award suddenly doesn’t look so solid.
Hart’s 3rd Quarter
Though the game ended in a lopsided score, the third quarter was still back and forth. Hart had three plays in the third quarter that swung the momentum to the Pelicans when the game could have went either way. He had a bucket with an “and-one” early in the third quarter, then had a steal and a dunk before hitting a three-pointer to put the Pelicans up five with 7:37 remaining in the third.
The Pelicans went to work from there, opening up a big lead with easy transition buckets and three-pointers. New Orleans ended the night hitting 14 of 34 three-pointers for 41.2% as a team. After a stumbling first quarter the Pelicans played nearly flawless team basketball with a collective 40 assists. Even without leading scorer Brandon Ingram, the Pelicans were a well-balanced force on offense.
Williamson will rightly get a lot of the press, but Hart’s defense and timely shot making were crucial to the Pelicans’ big third quarter. It was very much a team win and Hart’s 17 points and six rebounds are emblematic of that effort.
Rebounds and Assists
The Pelicans spread the workload tonight, especially when it came to rebounding and assists. Whiteside was owning the paint against Favors early on but the rest of the team stepped up and got on the glass. The Pelicans had five players with at least six rebounds and both Jaxson Hayes and Jrue Holiday added four each. After getting beat on the boards in the first quarter, the Pelicans worked for an overall 50 to 40 advantage, which was a big part of the game in the second half. Though he didn’t shoot particularly well, Nicolo Melli added 8 boards and ten points in what was truly a team win.
The Pelicans also shared the ball, racking up 40 assists behind ten each from Ball and Holiday. Williamson and Frank Jackson chipped in five apiece as the Pelicans played an exciting brand of up-tempo basketball where everyone was involved.
The Pelicans can build real momentum going into the All-Star break. With a commanding 3-0 series lead over Portland, the Pelicans helped their playoff chances and took down a conference rival. The Pelicans are making some noise and putting themselves in position to be in the playoff hunt down the stretch.