New Orleans Pelicans: Top Individual Playoff Performances #15 and #14
#15-Baron Davis: 2002-3 Game 3 vs. Sixers
After dropping the first two in this series to Allen Iverson and the Sixers, the Pelicans (Hornets) finally came alive and won game three of what would end up being a six game series.
New Orleans eventually lost the series, but for a couple of games Baron Davis went head-to-head against Iverson. People tend to forget how good Davis was, especially in big games, when he always seemed to find another level.
Unfortunately for Davis, the rest of his team wasn’t very good and included guys like Jamal Magloire, David Wesley and P.J. Brown.
New Orleans got the better of Iverson and the Sixers in this one behind 28 points, 8 assists and four rebounds from Davis, who had some big games but disappeared in most of the losses.
Davis was a flawed player on a flawed team, which is not a bad summary of the New Orleans Pelicans’ playoff history in general.
#14-Nikola Mirotic: 2017-18 Game 3 vs. Trail Blazers
For the next entry we jump all the way into the Anthony Davis era, when it looked for a brief moment like the New Orleans Pelicans might finally have something going.
Mirotic came up big in the first round of the playoffs against the Trail Blazers, which ended in a four game sweep for the Pelicans.
Mirotic was brilliant in this one, dropping 30 points to lead the team on 12 for 15 shooting including four for six from 3-point range.
This was the team where it looked as though the Pelicans had finally built something around Anthony Davis, forming a poor man’s “Big 3” with Davis, Jrue Holiday and Mirotic.
Of course, that didn’t last long and the Pelicans failed to make the playoffs the next year before Davis finally whined his way out of town.
It all worked out for the New Orleans Pelicans eventually, but this team gave the fans hope that they could build a consistent winner around Davis.