New Orleans Pelicans: Largest Win Against a Rival in Orlando
By Tim Burke
New Orleans Pelicans: First Matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies
Who had the best game? Worst game?
This was one of the better team games for the New Orleans Pelicans this season with eight players scoring in double-digits, Josh Hart getting a double-double, and Zion scoring 24 points in what was at that moment a career-high.
However, the player who had the best game was Jrue Holiday, even though his 18 points, four rebounds, and six assists wouldn’t make you do a double-take while looking at the box score.
What made his game so outstanding was the three steals, two blocks, and lockdown defense he played against Morant. That defense was on display early as Jrue held Ja to just six points, two assists, and two turnovers in the first half.
This game was a blowout after the third quarter so some of the stat lines have to be taken with a grain of salt. Only Lonzo Ball played more than 30 minutes in this game. With that being said there was one player who had a worse game than others.
Jonas Valanciunas had a decent stat line, his 18 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks were close to his season averages and he likely would’ve matched those numbers if he played more than 26 minutes. But there’s a reason he played just over half a game when the team was missing two of their three rotational bigs, and that was fouls.
Valanciunas had five fouls by the end of the third quarter and fouled out with about eight minutes remaining in the game. By having a bunch of fouls early, the Grizzlies were forced to play five guard lineups for long stretches in the game, which led to the New Orleans Pelicans being able to score at will in the paint.