Nicolò Melli three-point barrage leads New Orleans Pelicans past Warriors

After struggling in the first half, the New Orleans Pelicans rode the perimeter-shooting off the bench from their big to a much-needed road win.

Starting their three-game road trip with a highly desireable opponent in the league-worst Golden State Warriors, the New Orleans Pelicans had to dig deep at halftime, looking for someone to provide some answers on either end.

Stepping up in a big way last night off their bench was the increasingly sturdy Nicolò Melli, a face many around the country or even those following the team might not have seen until his surprising addition to the Rising Stars game.

Appearing in 45 games and making 6 starts for these Pelicans, Melli continues to be a big part of winning for his team.

Facing a tough spot on the road as the team trailed 46-56 at the half, he proved brilliant against the Warriors.

Scoring 14 of his 20 points in the second half, he was a big part of the reason his team outscored Golden State by a nice margin of 69-45, eventually giving the New Orleans Pelicans a 115-101 victory.

His shooting stroke seemed unbreakable in the win. Melli went 6-of-7 from three-point range, shooting 7-of-8 from the floor overall.

In fact, his 6 made three-pointers is a new career-high in makes from beyond the perimeter, something the Pelicans would like to see boost several more times before the end of the year.

Seemingly whenever the Pelicans seemed due for a bucket in the second half, Jrue Holiday or Lonzo Ball had a clean feed to the Italian rookie.

Melli’s impact against Golden State went further than his three-point stroke, as the forward did a nice job setting up his teammates.

Floor spacing is a monumental factor in the modern NBA and having a stretch four with good basketball instincts like their 29-year-old rookie in Nicolò Melli.

When you have someone like Melli with the ability to create space around Zion Williamson, you’re doing a lot of good things that’ll help maximize what the Pelicans can bring on the offensive end.

Further, Melli did a really nice job giving this New Orleans Pelicans defense a lift, as the Warriors continued to beat the Pelicans around the rim on uncontested looks. He finished with 5 rebounds and 1 block on the afternoon, finishing +5 in the plus-minus column.

Early in the game, the Warriors were doing a good job running plays that got Dragan Bender and Juan Toscano-Anderson too many easy looks when cutting to the rim. For Melli, it was a matter of stuffing those lanes, which he made look just as easy as the Warriors’ first-half offense.

The first year of NBA action for the 29-year-old forward has been pretty impressive, as Melli’s proving to be one of the very top options off of this team’s bench, quickly clearing the path to become a top option for the Pelicans come playoff time.

Continuing to heat up during his rookie season, Melli has proven his value of late, averaging 8.5 points, 4 rebounds and by shooting 50% from three on 4.1 attempts over his last 15 games.

As the Pelicans continue their stretch run, Melli is going to keep winning more minutes, especially against smaller teams like Golden Stae where Derrick Favors plays a diminished role as a heavier-footed, traditional starting center.

Potentially for Melli, continuing to log minutes and picking up a great role in the team’s offense could also help net him some votes to become a Second Team All-Rookie… all in due time.

Now standing just 3.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth-seed in the Western Conference Playoffs, the team needs as much help as they can get from a bench that’s had peaks and valleys this season for Alvin Gentry.

Despite the Portland Trail Blazers hanging onto a narrow victory last night at home against the Detroit Pistons, the San Antonio Spurs‘ loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder has vaulted the New Orleans Pelicans up to the tenth-seed, just 0.5 games away from the ninth spot in the West.

Though things started out of hand in San Francisco against the Warriors, the Pelicans rode huge performances from Zion Williamson, Jrue Holiday, and Nicolò Melli to help further prove this team’s willingness to do whatever it takes to net a Western Conference Playoff berth.