New Orleans Pelicans: The Zion vs. Luka Rivalry Begins
By Tim Burke
What was the highlight of the game? Moment?
The highlight and moment of the game were the same to me from this game. This game was a close affair, with the score being tied 15 times in the second half alone. No moment was more impactful than the shot that went in with just 7.4 seconds on the clock.
Nicolo Melli was ice cold up to that point but when the moment mattered the most he came through by nailing a tough three with the 7’3″ Kristaps Porzingis right in his face. With just 9.9 seconds in the game, the Pelicans had an inbound play on their offensive half.
Gentry inserted his three-point lineup after a timeout with Lonzo inbounding to one of Jrue, Ingram, Zion, or Melli. The decoy action started with Jrue making a looping run from the far corner towards the top of the arc, this pulled most of the Mavericks away from where the ball would actually go.
The only one who wasn’t fooled was Kristaps Porzingis, who stayed tight on Melli’s hip from the far corner up the baseline to the near corner. Lonzo basically throws a no-look pass to Melli who catches the ball while turning and still going away from the basket. Melli knowing where he was on the court, didn’t even need to look down to make sure he got behind the arc.
In one sweeping motion, Melli catches the ball and starts his shooting motion. No hesitation from Melli and he lets it fly, Porzingis had a great contest on this shot pretty much high-fived Melli after the release. The high arching shot got nothing but net and the game was tied at 112 with 7.4 seconds left.
The teams would eventually go to overtime after Porzingis missed a jumper of his own on the other end.